‘Lose it, or lose it!’

A report from Harvard Medical School says;
'Over the past several years, researchers have slowly accumulated evidence linking excess weight to dementia. But it may not be overall weight that matters most, but rather where it sits on the body. A study published in 2008 indicated that it’s fat tissue in the abdominal cavity — the stuff that expands our waistlines — that’s most strongly associated with dementia.
If getting fat translates into a higher risk of developing dementia, that might add some fresh motivation to weight-control efforts. “People aren’t as scared of cardiovascular disease as they are of losing their minds,” points out Rachel A. Whitmer, an epidemiologist for Kaiser Permanente who has conducted several of the important studies on weight and dementia. Whitmer says it’s time we started paying attention to belly size as a bona fide health indicator, like cholesterol levels and blood pressure readings, not just a source of aesthetic anguish or wardrobe malfunction'.
For more information about achieving and maintaining a healthy weight, see the Harvard Special Health Report, Healthy Solutions to Lose Weight and Keep it Off, at www.health.harvard.edu/WL.