Health
‘Hidden’ fat could predict Alzheimer’s disease up to 20 years before symptoms, research finds
Excess fat has been linked to many health conditions, even some that impact the brain.
In the latest Alzheimer’s research, hidden fat in certain parts of the body was shown to be an early warning sign of the most common dementia — as much as 20 years prior to symptoms emerging.
The study findings were presented this week at the annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) meeting in Chicago.
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“Among different body compartments, higher visceral or hidden belly fat is the most important predictor of whole-brain amyloid and early tau protein accumulation,” lead study author Mahsa Dolatshahi, M.D., post-doctoral research associate at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology (MIR) at the Washington University School of Medicine, told Fox News Digital.
The researchers studied different kinds of body tissues — including subcutaneous fat, liver fat and thigh fat — but visceral fat was the “most powerful predictor of the obesity-related Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathologies,” Dolatshahi noted.
In the latest Alzheimer’s research, hidden fat in various parts of the body was shown to be an early warning sign of the most common dementia — as long as 20 years prior to symptoms emerging. (iStock)
“The other types of fat did not show any associations with AD pathologies.”
In the study, researchers assessed 80 middle-aged adults (averaging 49 years old) who did not have any cognitive impairment, according to a press release.
“Visceral fat was the most powerful predictor of obesity-related Alzheimer’s pathologies.”
Just over half of the people were categorized as obese.
The average body mass index (BMI) was 32.31, with anything over 30 falling into the obesity category.
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The researchers assessed the potential connection between signs of Alzheimer’s disease and controllable lifestyle factors, including obesity, metabolic health and BMI.
Tests included brain scans, body MRIs, cholesterol panels, and measurements of blood glucose and insulin levels.
Insulin resistance and lower HDL cholesterol were associated with high amyloid in the brain, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s. (iStock)
Beyond just measuring BMI, the study used MRI technology to look closer at body fat and better determine its relationship to Alzheimer’s, the release noted.
“We investigated the association of BMI, visceral fat, subcutaneous fat, liver fat fraction, thigh fat and muscle, as well as insulin resistance and HDL (good cholesterol), with amyloid and tau deposition in Alzheimer’s disease,” said Dolatshahi.
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An additional finding was that higher insulin resistance and lower HDL were associated with high amyloid in the brain, which is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s.
“A key implication of our work is that managing Alzheimer’s risk in obesity will need to involve targeting the related metabolic and lipid issues that often arise with higher body fat,” said senior study author Cyrus A. Raji, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of radiology at MIR, in the release.
Beyond just measuring BMI, the study used MRI technology to look closer at body fat and better determine its relationship to Alzheimer’s. (iStock)
In a separate study that is also being presented this week, the same research team investigated how obesity and belly fat can impair blood flow to the brain.
Three out of four Americans are overweight or obese, the researchers noted.
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Meanwhile, approximately 6.9 million Americans, aged 65 and older, have been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, a number that has been predicted to reach 13 million by 2050.
“The good news is these risk factors can be lowered with a healthy lifestyle and routine exercise.”
Dr. Earnest Lee Murray, a board-certified neurologist at Jackson-Madison County General Hospital in Jackson, Tennessee, was not involved in the study but commented on the results.
“We have known for some time the dangers of visceral fat on various organs of the body, likely from its facilitation of inflammatory changes — and it’s no different in the brain,” he told Fox News Digital.
What stuck out most to Murray was how early in life the changes are noted in the brain.
“The good news is these risk factors can be lowered with a healthy lifestyle and routine exercise,” he said.
The popularity of GLP-1 medications for diabetes and obesity “will most certainly be studied” in this context as well, Murray added.
Making healthy lifestyle changes can help reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s later in life, experts say. (iStock)
“This study also shows the importance of physicians and insurance companies focusing on prevention and the long-term benefits of modifying risk factors at an early age, as opposed to waiting for patients to develop symptoms.”
The study did have some limitations, the researchers acknowledged.
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“One is the cross-sectional design of the study, which does not allow us to understand whether the individuals with excess visceral fat and amyloid and tau pathologies will develop cognitive impairment and symptomatic AD,” Dolatshahi told Fox News Digital.
“Also, the sample size for this study is limited to 80 individuals, and we need more studies to understand the role of different kinds of body adiposity in Alzheimer’s disease using PET scans.”
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As colorectal cancer (CRC) is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50, a new report reveals some surprising shifts in the incidence of the disease.
Although rates of CRC have been declining among seniors, those 65 and under are facing a rise in diagnoses, according to a report titled Colorectal Cancer Statistics, 2026, from the American Cancer Society.
Adults 65 and younger comprise nearly half (45%) of all new colorectal cancer cases — a significant increase from 27% in 1995, states the report, which was published in CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.
The disease is rising fastest among adults 20 to 49 years old, at a rate of 3% per year.
Colorectal cancer is now the leading cause of cancer death in adults under 50. (iStock)
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. Although that age group is eligible to receive routine screenings, just 37% do so.
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The report also revealed that rectal cancer is on the rise, now accounting for about one-third (32%) of all CRC cases — an increase from 27% in the mid-2000s.
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“After decades of progress, the risk of dying from colorectal cancer is climbing in younger generations of men and women, confirming a real uptick in disease because of something we’re doing or some other exposure,” said Rebecca Siegel, senior scientific director, surveillance research at the American Cancer Society and lead author of the report, in a press release.
Among adults 50 and under, 75% of colorectal cancers are diagnosed at an advanced stage. Half of the diagnoses in that age range are made between the ages of 45 and 49. (iStock)
“We need to redouble research efforts to understand the cause, but also circumvent deaths through earlier detection by educating clinicians and the general public about symptoms and increasing screening in people 45-54 years.”
It is projected that 158,850 new cases of colorectal cancer will be diagnosed this year, and that the disease will cause 55,230 deaths, per the report.
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More than half of CRC cases can be linked to high-risk behaviors, the researchers said. Those include lack of nutrition, high alcohol consumption, smoking, lack of exercise and obesity.
“These findings further underscore that colorectal cancer is worsening among younger generations and highlight the immediate need for eligible adults to begin screening at the recommended age of 45,” said Dr. William Dahut, chief scientific officer at the American Cancer Society.
When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%. (iStock)
“The report also shines a light on the crucial importance of continued funding for research to help discover new therapies to treat the disease and advance patient care.”
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When the disease is caught at a local (early) stage, the five-year survival rate is 95%, the report stated.
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A new study suggests that middle-aged men may be more vulnerable to faster biological aging, potentially linked to exposure to “forever chemicals.”
The research, published in the journal Frontiers in Aging, examined how perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, more commonly known as PFAS, could impact aging at the cellular level.
PFAS are synthetic chemicals commonly used in nonstick cookware, food packaging, water-resistant fabrics and other consumer products, the study noted.
Their chemical structure makes them highly resistant to breaking down, allowing them to accumulate in water, soil and the human body.
Chinese researchers analyzed blood samples from 326 adults enrolled in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2000.
A new study suggests that middle-aged men could face accelerated biological aging at the cellular level due to exposure to PFAS. (iStock)
The researchers measured levels of 11 PFAS compounds in participants’ blood and used DNA-based “epigenetic clocks” — tools that analyze chemical changes to DNA to estimate biological age — to determine how quickly their bodies were aging at the cellular level, the study stated.
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Two compounds, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA), were detected in 95% of participants.
Higher concentrations of those chemicals were associated with faster biological aging in men of certain age groups, but not in women.
“People should not panic.”
The compounds most strongly linked to accelerated aging were not the PFAS chemicals that typically receive the most public attention, the researchers noted.
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“The associations were strongest in adults aged 50 to 64, particularly in men,” Dr. Xiangwei Li, professor at Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine and the study’s corresponding author, told Fox News Digital.
“While this does not establish that PFAS cause aging, it suggests that these widely present ‘forever chemicals’ may be linked to molecular changes related to long-term health and aging.”
The study found that two of the compounds were detected in 95% of participants, and higher levels were linked to faster biological aging in men ages 50–64. (iStock)
Midlife may represent a more sensitive biological period, when the body becomes more vulnerable to age-related stressors, according to the researchers.
Lifestyle factors, such as smoking, may influence biological aging markers, potentially increasing vulnerability to environmental pollutants.
While Li said “people should not panic,” she does recommend looking for reasonable ways to reduce exposure.
That might mean checking local drinking water reports, using certified water filters designed to reduce PFAS, and limiting the use of stain- or grease-resistant products when alternatives are available.
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Meaningful reductions in PFAS exposure will likely depend on broader regulatory action and environmental cleanup efforts, Li added.
The researchers noted that midlife could be a particularly sensitive stage, when the body is more susceptible to stressors associated with aging. (iStock)
Study limitations
The researchers outlined several important limitations of the research, including that the findings show an association, but do not prove that PFAS directly causes accelerated aging.
“The study is cross-sectional, meaning exposure and aging markers were measured at the same time, so we cannot determine causality,” Li told Fox News Digital.
The study was also relatively small, limited to 326 adults age 50 or older, which means the findings may not apply to younger people or broader populations.
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Researchers measured PFAS levels using data collected between 1999 and 2000, and today’s exposure patterns may differ.
Li added that while PFAS is known to persist in the environment and the body, these results should be validated through larger, more recent studies that follow participants over time.
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