"Researchers report that people who have more muscle and a lower visceral fat to muscle ratio tend to show signs of a younger biological brain age. This conclusion comes from a study that will be presented next week at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA). Visceral fat refers to the fat stored deep in the abdomen around key internal organs."
""Healthier bodies with more muscle mass and less hidden belly fat are more likely to have healthier, youthful brains," said senior study author Cyrus Raji, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of radiology and neurology in the Department of Radiology at Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri. "Better brain health, in turn, lowers the risk for future brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's.""
"How MRI Measures Brain Age and Body Composition Brain age is an estimate of how old the brain appears biologically, based on its structure as seen through MRI. Body MRI can track muscle mass, which serves as a marker for efforts to reduce frailty and strengthen overall health. Estimated brain age from structural scans may also shed light on risk factors for Alzheimer's disease, including muscle loss."
Greater skeletal muscle mass and a lower visceral fat–to–muscle ratio associate with younger-appearing biological brain age as estimated from structural MRI. Whole-body MRI quantified muscle mass and deep abdominal (visceral) fat while brain structural scans provided estimated brain age measures. The evaluation included 1,164 healthy adults (mean chronological age 55.17 years; 52% women) across four research sites. Findings link body composition markers—more muscle, less hidden belly fat—to indicators of healthier, more youthful brains and suggest potential implications for lowering future risk of brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
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