Is Belly Fat Bad for Your Brain? - WSJ

People who have a big belly during middle age are more likely to develop dementia in old age, researchers are reporting. It’s another sign that the belly is an especially bad place to be fat.

Scientists at Kaiser looked at measurements taken from more than 6,500 people between 1964 and 1973, when the patients were between the ages of 40 and 45. Then the researchers looked at the patients’ health records during the years 2004-2006, to see which ones had been diagnosed with dementia.

Among those whose belly sizes were in the largest 20%, 3.2% developed dementia; the rate was 2.2% for those with the smallest bellies....