Article posted Thursday, December 18, 2014 12:31pm

Abdominal fat, or belly fat, is linked to an increased risk for dementia and brain atrophy. Researchers examined 10 years of data pertaining to abdominal obesity and discovered that this kind of fat increased from 45.4 to 56.1 percent during the period. High blood sugar rates in the group rose from 12.9 to 19.9 percent during the 10 years. Belly fat is more likely to break down and release chemicals that lead to health problems than is fat in hips or thighs. One way to evaluate belly fat is to circle your waist with a measuring tape, with the tape passing over your navel. Do not pull in your stomach. A waist size of more than 40 inches in men and more than 35 inches in women signals that you may have excess belly fat and be a candidate for health risks. The good news is that belly fat may be more responsive to weight loss efforts than fat elsewhere in the body. Wisconsinites who wear their beer belly with pride should realize that its presence enhances their chances of ending up in an emergency room. (Mind, Mood & Memory, Mass. General Hospital, Jan. 2014)