Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 28, 2026

Motor and Hippocampal Dependent Spatial Learning and Reference Memory Assessment in a Transgenic Rat Model of Alzheimer's Disease with Stroke
Published on: March 22, 2016
High adiposity: risk factor for dementia and Alzheimer's disease?
Deborah R Gustafson1, José A Luchsinger2
1Department of Neurology, Section for NeuroEpidemiology, State University of New York-Downstate Medical Center, 450 Clarkson Avenue, Box 1213, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA ; Institute for Neuroscience and Physiology, Neuropsychiatric Epidemiology Unit, Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, Wallinsgatan 6, 43141, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Abstract:
Higher levels of total and central adiposity, measured as higher body mass index (BMI) (in kilograms per square meter), waist circumference, or waist-to-hip ratio, have been associated with late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, some epidemiologic studies do not support this association, and potential underlying biological mechanisms that provide biological plausibility are not clear in terms of providing direct links to adipose tissue. Studies linking adiposity to AD have considered adiposity measures from mid-life and late-life. Given an evolving background trajectory of BMI that exists over the life course and the influence of dementia processes on BMI, results have been conflicting depending on when BMI is measured in relationship to clinical AD onset. This has made interpretation of the BMI-AD literature difficult. This debate will briefly review the epidemiologic evidence for and against an association between higher adiposity and AD, issues of timing of the adiposity measure in relation to AD onset, potential biological mechanisms for observed associations, and explanations for conflicting evidence.
Related Concept Videos
Alzheimer Disease l: Introduction
Alzheimer's Disease: Overview
The clinical diagnosis of AD hinges on the presence of memory and other cognitive impairments. Biomarkers, such as changes in Aβ...
Dementia l: Introduction
Dementia
The progression of dementia is generally gradual....
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology
Obesity

