People with more belly and arm fat are at a higher risk for developing neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, a new study finds.
Researchers also found that having more muscle strength was tied to a lower risk for the diseases.
The report was published on July 27 in Neurology.
“These neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s affect over 60 million people worldwide, and that number is expected to grow as the population ages, so it’s crucial that we identify ways to modify risk factors to develop some preventive tools,” Huan Song, MD, PhD, of Sichuan University in China and the study’s senior author, said in a statement.
“Lifestyle modifications, such as engaging in resistance training, reducing sedentary behavior, and adhering to a balanced diet, can effectively help in reducing central fat and enhancing muscle strength, which may potentially offer greater neuroprotective benefits than weight-focused anti-obesity medications,” the researchers wrote.
Experts think genetic and environmental risk factors contribute to the diseases. Some evidence suggests that body composition — fat, muscle, and bone mass — also plays a role. Muscle seems to be protective and fat seems to raise the risk for the diseases.
That’s why the team at Sichuan University in China looked at the link between body composition and neurodegenerative diseases. Data came from 412,691 adults enrolled between 2006-2010 in the U.K. Biobank. The average age of participants was 56, and people didn’t have a neurodegenerative disease when the study began.
Researchers measured all participants’ waist and hip circumference, grip strength, bone density, and fat and muscle mass. Beginning five years after enrollment, they were followed for an average of nine years. In that time frame 8,224 people developed neurodegenerative conditions including 2,427 cases of Parkinson’s disease, 2,933 cases of Alzheimer’s and 6,076 cases of dementia.
People with more excess fat in the abdominal area had 13% higher odds of developing a neurodegenerative condition compared with those who had less belly fat. More arm fat was linked to an 18% higher risk of neurodegeneration.
People with more muscle were 26% less likely to develop neurodegenerative conditions compared with those with poorer muscle strength.
Likewise, biomarkers of poor brain aging were more evident in participants who were diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease compared with those without the diseases. The biomarkers also positively correlated with abdominal obesity and arm-dominant fat patterns, while muscle strength negatively correlated with them.
“Targeted interventions to reduce trunk and arm fat while promoting healthy muscle development may be more effective for protection against these diseases than general weight control,” Song said.
