This Common Sign Of Metabolic Dysfunction May Increase Dementia Risk
And what you can do to support your metabolism.
Fransebas
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist
Image by RealPeopleGroup / iStock May 22, 2026 When it comes to dementia risk, where you store body fat may matter more than how much you weigh overall. A new large-scale study suggests that visceral fat (the deeper abdominal fat that surrounds your organs and is closely tied to metabolic dysfunction) may be more strongly linked to dementia risk than traditional measures like BMI. Here's what you need to know.
About the study
To investigate, they analyzed health data from more than 327,000 adults in the UK Biobank who were dementia-free at baseline. Over the follow-up period, 8,768 participants went on to develop dementia.
Instead of relying solely on BMI, the researchers looked at two newer markers tied to visceral fat and metabolic health:
The researchers first compared these tools against imaging-derived visceral fat scans to confirm they were accurately capturing visceral adiposity. They then examined how these scores related to future dementia risk while also accounting for factors like genetics, cardiometabolic health, and metabolic dysfunction.
The link between visceral fat & dementia
Not all body fat behaves the same way. Visceral fat is considered metabolically active and is strongly associated with inflammation, insulin resistance, poor blood sugar control, unhealthy cholesterol levels, and vascular dysfunction—all factors that can influence brain health over time.
In this study, higher visceral-fat-related scores were associated with a higher risk of:
The strongest associations were seen with vascular dementia. Why? Well, excess visceral fat is closely tied to cardiometabolic dysfunction and blood vessel damage, both of which can impair blood flow to the brain. Vascular dementia accounts for approximately 17-30% of dementia cases.
One especially interesting finding is that BMI stayed relatively stable in people before they developed dementia, while waist circumference and fasting blood sugar increased. This suggests that metabolic dysfunction and central fat accumulation may be more relevant warning signs than overall body weight alone.
The researchers also found that the relationship between visceral fat and Alzheimer’s disease appeared strongest in people with low to moderate genetic risk, suggesting metabolic health and body composition may meaningfully influence brain aging (regardless of genetics).
Importantly, this study does not prove that visceral fat directly causes dementia. It was observational, meaning researchers could only identify associations, not cause and effect.
How to improve your body comp
It is possible to lose visceral fat (and gain muscle) with the right habits. Research consistently shows that these habits can help reduce visceral fat and support healthy body composition:
The takeaway
Dementia is a condition that is closely tied to metabolic health and lifestyle factors. And while improving your metabolic health cannot prevent cognitive decline, it can offer some protection against a future diagnosis.
