Being fat may be more than just a hazard to your heart, according to a new Annals of Neurology study.

WebMD reports that researchers at Boston University School of Medicine studied 733 men and women with an average age of 60. They performed CT scans of their abdomens and MRI scans of the subjects’ brains and looked at the potential associations of body mass index, waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and the CT measure of abdominal fat with the total brain volume.

They found that excess belly fat may cause the brain to shrink and increase the risk of dementia later on.

”The greater the amount of visceral fat, the smaller the brain," the study’s lead author, Sudha Seshadri, M.D, told the website.
According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the disease currently impacts more than 5 million Americans.

Signs of Alzheimer’s include memory loss, difficulty solving problems, confusion with time or place, trouble understanding spatial relationships, poor judgment, withdrawal from work or social activities and changes in mood and personality.

The disease is often treated by both traditional drugs and vitamins and minerals. One study found that high doses of vitamin E supplements could help alleviate Alzheimer’s symptoms.