Can Belly Fat Make You Dumb?

Will Belly Fat make you Dumb? Dear Shaklee Family, According to the following study (RA Whitmer et al, Neurology, 71: 1057-1064, 2008) and Stephen Chaney PhD it does.  This study showed that abdominal obesity dramatically increases your risk of developing dementia as you age. This study involved 6,583 members of Kaiser Permanente of  Northern California, ages 40 to 45, who had their abdominal obesity measured between 1964 and 1973.  The investigators then pulled their medical records between 1994 and 2006 when they were between 73 and 87 years old and asked how many of them had dementia. The results may shock you. The participants were divided into five groups based on their abdominal circumference. Those with the largest abdominal circumference were nearly 3 times more likely to have developed dementia than those with the smallest abdominal circumference. And that was after the data were adjusted for age, sex, race, education, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, stroke and heart disease - all factors that are known to affect the risk of dementia. Interestingly enough the abdominal circumference was a better predictor of dementia risk than was BMI, the most frequently used measure of obesity. Those subjects who had high abdominal obesity and normal BMI had a 2-fold increased risk of developing dementia, while those subjects who were obese but had normal abdominal circumference had only an 80%increased risk of developing dementia. Of course, those people who were both obese and had a large belly were the worst off - they had almost a 4-fold increased risk of developing dementia. What's the Worst that can Happen? You put on a few extra pounds - especially around the middle.  Your blood sugar goes up a bit. Is that a big deal? What's the worst that could happen? Try Cancer for Starters! When your blood sugar levels go up, your body produces more insulin and a protein called insulin-like growth factor to try and keep your blood sugar levels under control.  Both of these hormones stimulate the growth of cancer cells.  This has been known for years, but scientists have argued as to whether this was a real concern or just of theoretical interest.  Two recent studies - one in Korea and one in Sweden - have shown that this is a very real concern. The Swedish study, published in the December 2009 issue of PLoS Medicine, followed 550,000 residents of Sweden, Norway and Austria for 10 years. It showed that high blood sugar levels increased the risk of cancer by 11% for women and 5% for men. The cancers most affected by high blood sugar levels were cancers of the pancreas, gallbladder, liver and bladder - although the incidence of most other cancers was increased as well. Interestingly, prostate cancer - the most common form of cancer in men - was not affected by high blood sugar levels. That explains why the effect of high blood sugar on cancer incidence was lower in men than in women. Are you doomed to develop dementia and cancer when you get older if you are carrying around extra belly fat?" The answer is no. Most experts feel that the effects of abdominal obesity are reversible. But the time to act is now!  If you wait until you get older, you might just forget that you ever read this article. If you would like help with weight control, exercise, and keeping your blood sugar levels under control through proper diet and appropriate supplementation we can help. Matt and Kristen McAsey 785-341-4437 Shaklee Distributor www.mcasey.myshaklee.com The Business Concept Explained..... You have been sent an eMail If you cannot see the eMail please click here to view this mail in your web browser.