By Jimmy Downs

Tuesday Sept 24, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- A new study in Alzheimer Disease and Associated Disorders suggests that central obesity in middle age predicts high risk for late-onset Alzheimer's disease.

Some but not all previous studies have pointed to a possibility that suffering central obesity in middle age may increase risk of late-onset Alzheimer's disease.  The current study was intended to examine the association between central obesity suggested by body mass index, waist circumference and waist to hip ratio with late-onset Alzheimer's disease risk in elderly people.

For the study, Richard  Mayeux MD and colleagues followed 1459 men and women with obesity or not and aged 65 years and older and residing in New York City without dementia at the beginning of the study to collect anthropometric data and identify incident Alzheimer's disease cases.   During 5734 person-years of follow-up, 145 cases of Alzheimer's disease were identified.

Body mass index and waist circumference were not associated with risk of Alzheimer's disease, but the waist to hip ratio was.  Those in the highest quartile of waist to hip ratios were 150 percent more likely than those in the lowest quartile to develop Alzheimer's disease after adjustment for age, sex, ethnic group, education Apolipoprotein E-ε4, type 2 diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, non-high density lipoprotein cholesterol, high density lipoprotein cholesterol and stroke.

The researchers concluded "Our results support the notion that central obesity is related to a higher risk of LOAD (late onset of Alzheimer's disease)."

Obesity has been associated with quite a few chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes mellitus, high blood pressure, and cancer among others.  In the U.S. more than two thirds of the population are either overweight or obese.