Heres what you’re able to do about it.
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Maintaining a healthy weight can be pretty important as well.
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They published their findings inJAMA web connection Open.Heres what they found.
How Was This Study Conducted?
Researchers drew data from a long-term study called the Whitehall II Study at University College London.
Over 10,000 participants were followed for 30 years, which were broken up into 13 study waves.
Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) was measured during five of those waves.
The study at hand consists of two cohorts.
The second cohort for this study was called the WHR cohort.
Diet quality was determined via food frequency questionnaires given during three of the waves.
The lower the ratio, the less abdominal adiposity.
Researchers also examined participants brain scans.
Study Limitations
What Did This Study Find?
This was, in part, evidenced by higher widespread diffusivity of white matter in the brain.
For your brain health, you definitely want to keep your white matter intact.
How Does This Apply to Real Life?
This current study seems to support this notion.
The MIND diet is flexible and can be tailored to your preferences.
To get started, try ourSimple 7-Day Cognitive Health Meal Plan.
Other than diet, there are activities you’re free to engage in that will support your brain.
Meditating and practicing yogaormoving your body morethrough other activitiescan reduce stress and protect your brain.
Ditto for getting plenty of quality sleep.
Keep your brain active by learning new skills, reading and challenging it with various types of puzzles.
And spend time with loved ones, since loneliness has been associated withan increased risk of dementia.
As with any research, more needs to be done to investigate the connection further.
Many factors influence abdominal fat, including diet, exercise, stress and sleep.
Sometimes the little changes can reap big rewards down the road.
2025;8(3):e250171.
doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.0171
U.S. Geological Survey.The water in you: water and the human body.
