Scientists are increasingly focusing on the relationship between muscle mass and visceral fat and their impact on cognitive functions, in an effort to discover practical ways to maintain brain health as we age.
In this regard, American scientists have found that increasing muscle mass and reducing visceral fat in the body may help maintain brain health and delay its aging, which may reduce the risk of developing diseases such as Alzheimer's.
The study relied on examining MRI scans of 1,164 healthy individuals, with an average age of approximately 55. The scientists combined full-body images with T1-weighted sequences, where fat appears light and water appears dark, allowing for high-resolution imaging of muscle, fat, and brain tissue.
Dr. Cyrus Raji, associate professor of radiology and neurology at the University of Washington School of Medicine and lead author of the study, explained that "healthier bodies, with more muscle mass and less abdominal fat, are more likely to have healthier, younger brains, which in turn reduces the risk of future brain diseases such as Alzheimer's."
Raji pointed out that visceral fat lies below the abdominal wall, surrounding the internal organs, which is why even thin people sometimes carry harmful amounts of it. Meanwhile, muscle mass is an important indicator of brain health and can be easily detected using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
He said: "People with more muscle tend to have younger brains, while the brains of people with more hidden abdominal fat look older."
Scientists have confirmed that improving body health by increasing muscle mass and reducing hidden fat are achievable goals through lifestyle changes, and that modern weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Mongaro may help target both fat and muscle, which could contribute to the development of future treatments that focus on visceral fat.
Raji pointed out that losing visceral fat while maintaining muscle mass may have the best effect on brain health with age, stressing that the study's findings could help determine optimal drug dosages to improve both body and brain health.
It is worth noting that previous studies have shown that addressing lifestyle factors can prevent about half of Alzheimer's cases.
