Obesity in adolescence has been
linked to an increased risk for Alzheimer's Disease, according
to a study that was published in the current issue of the
journal Pediatrics.
The finding means that in addition to increasing the risk
of diabetes, fatty liver disease, retinal damage and heart
disease, those extra pounds could also lead to cognitive
deficits that grow into the devastating senile dementia known as
Alzheimer's.
Researchers at the Roman clinic Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino
Gesù discovered in obese adolescents elevated levels of the
amyloid beta 42 peptide.
Amyloid beta peptides of 36-43 amino acids are the main
component in amyloid plaques found in the brains of patients
with Alzheimer's Disease.
The study involved 440 children and adolescents, with 101
children between the ages of 2 and 6, and 339 older children.
The mixed group included obese and normal weight children.
The higher level of amyloid beta 42 was found in obese
adolescents who had developed insulin resistance, a condition
that presages diabetes.
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