Where Fat Hangs Out Predicts Brain Aging Risk
A 25,997-person UK MRI study used latent profile analysis to classify body-fat distribution into six patterns. Compared with the leanest group, all non-lean profiles showed lower brain volumes and less gray matter, independent of total fat. Two patterns—pancreatic-predominant and skinny-fat—were most strongly linked to brain aging, white-matter lesions, and cognitive decline, with some sex-specific effects (men showing faster brain aging and women showing links to epilepsy for the pancreatic-predominant type). While higher BMI correlated with brain changes, fat location adds independent risk. The study is cross-sectional and can’t prove causation, but if validated these fat-distribution patterns could inform earlier interventions for neurodegenerative risk.
