Latest news with #KellyannNiotis
CNN
2 days ago
- Health
- CNN
Why getting rid of belly fat is key to a longer, healthier life
Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN's Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being. Hiding deep inside the body, a dangerous type of fat wraps itself around vital organs such as the kidneys, liver and heart — triggering inflammation that can lead to insulin resistance and chronic diseases which cut life short. Called visceral fat, it can make bellies expand — but not for everyone. Even people who are thin can carry too much visceral fat around their organs, a phenomenon known as 'skinny fat.' 'Visceral fat is a marker for everything — insulin resistance, elevated cardiovascular risk, fatty liver and type 2 diabetes — all very bad outcomes that limit a long and healthy life,' said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver. Excessive deep belly fat is even linked to long-term cognitive health, said preventive neurologist Dr. Kellyann Niotis, who researches Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease risk reduction at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Boca Raton, Florida. 'Visceral fat is metabolically unhealthy and secretes a lot of inflammatory chemicals that can cause brain atrophy and impact cognition,' Niotis told CNN in a prior interview. As the size of a person's belly grows, studies show the memory center of the brain shrinks and hallmark signs of Alzheimer's disease can appear — namely beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles. This accelerated march toward dementia can begin as early as the 40s and 50s, well before any cognitive decline is apparent, according to researchers. If visceral fat is about 10% of your body's total fat mass, that's normal and healthy, according to the Cleveland Clinic. So how do you know if that tummy starting to obscure your view of your feet is out of control? One way to tell is to measure your waistline. Non-pregnant women with a waist size greater than 35 inches (88.9 centimeters) and men with a waist greater than 40 inches (101.6 centimeters) are at higher risk from visceral fat, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can measure your waistline yourself: Without sucking in your tummy, wrap a tape measure over your waist at the top of your hip bone (typically across the belly button). Exhale normally and measure, making sure that the tape is parallel to the floor and snug, but not tight, across the skin. (No cheating by sucking in your stomach — this is your health at risk.) Another key sign is lean muscle mass. If you have more body fat than muscle mass, you're more likely to have visceral fat throughout the body, even the muscles, Freeman said. You can measure lean muscle mass with a yearly DEXA scan, a large noninvasive X-ray machine that measures bone density, internal visceral fat and muscle mass. There are also over-the-counter biometric scales that track percentages of body and visceral fat and lean muscle mass. Then there is common sense, Freeman said. Poor exercise and eating habits are a red flag for belly fat, now and in the future. 'Human beings were designed to be fit and strong and active,' he said. 'Eating unprocessed foods and not doing cardio and strength training are good signs that if you don't have excess now, you may soon — even if you don't look 'fat.'' Want to make a change? Visceral fat is reversible with lifestyle changes, Freeman said. 'The real holy grail, the elixir of youth, the key to staying young and aging gracefully is to remain strong and fit,' he said. Always check with your doctor before beginning any new exercise program. Then start with cardio to get the heart pumping, Freeman said. A good method is to briskly walk for at least 30 minutes a day —'but when I say briskly, I mean fast enough to lose your breath and not be able to hold a conversation. Keep that up for a half hour at a minimum.' The critical next step is to add resistance, otherwise known as strength training, he added. 'When I tell people to go walking or biking or swimming or jogging, I usually recommend that they do resistance concurrently,' Freeman said. 'Carry some weights with them, or put on a weighted backpack, put resistance on the bike or bike uphill, and put fins on their hands when they swim so that there's resistance in the water. Do whatever they need to try to combine the cardio with strength training.' Some of the most effective resistance exercises for building lean muscle and losing fat require multiple joints in the body to work together, according to the nonprofit American Council on Exercise. Dead lifts, lunges, planks, presses, pull-ups and push-ups require many muscles that elevate oxygen use and the release of hormones such as adrenaline that increase blood flow to muscles and boost overall heart rate — both key goals. As you build lean muscle mass, try to add weight, increase sets and repetition, and reduce the breaks you take between exercises. If you're unsure how to do that without injuring yourself, seek out the advice of a physical trainer, the council suggests. 'If you're doing all the right things and you're not building muscle mass, talk to your doctor to rule out issues such as low testosterone that may be hindering your progress,' Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of research at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, told CNN previously. Plant-based diets are excellent ways to improve nutrition and lose belly fat, experts say. 'Get rid of the standard American diet, filled with all the processed foods and added fats, sugars and the like and switch to a predominantly whole foods diet,' Freeman said. The Mediterranean diet — which is more of a lifestyle than a diet — has won top honors since 2019 for its focus on eating fruits, vegetables, grains, olive oil, nuts and seeds, while emphasizing the importance of meals with family and friends and daily exercise. The diet also slashes consumption of sweets and recommends small amounts of dairy and meat, especially red meat. Fish, however, is a staple, especially fatty fish such as sardines. Older people who followed a lower-calorie Mediterranean diet and minimally exercised up to six days a week gained muscle and lost a significant amount of body fat by the end of a year and kept much of it off for three years, according to an October 2023 study. A May 2024 study found the Mediterranean dietary pattern cut the risk of death for women by about 25% for more than 25 years, with reductions in both cancer and cardiovascular mortality. Changing when you eat may also help. Try a pattern of eating called intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating, Freeman said. However, he added, it doesn't work for everyone. 'People who are struggling with weight loss have to get their bodies out of its routine, and that's very hard to do,' Freeman said. 'Some people, not everyone, respond by some degree to time-restricted eating. 'You eat breakfast at 11 o'clock, you eat dinner by five o'clock — so six hours a day you're eating, and 18 hours a day you're not. Combine that with strength and cardio training and change the type of fuel to whole foods. You put all those together, and magic things start to happen.'
CNN
2 days ago
- Health
- CNN
Why getting rid of belly fat is key to a longer, healthier life
Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN's Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being. Hiding deep inside the body, a dangerous type of fat wraps itself around vital organs such as the kidneys, liver and heart — triggering inflammation that can lead to insulin resistance and chronic diseases which cut life short. Called visceral fat, it can make bellies expand — but not for everyone. Even people who are thin can carry too much visceral fat around their organs, a phenomenon known as 'skinny fat.' 'Visceral fat is a marker for everything — insulin resistance, elevated cardiovascular risk, fatty liver and type 2 diabetes — all very bad outcomes that limit a long and healthy life,' said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver. Excessive deep belly fat is even linked to long-term cognitive health, said preventive neurologist Dr. Kellyann Niotis, who researches Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease risk reduction at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Boca Raton, Florida. 'Visceral fat is metabolically unhealthy and secretes a lot of inflammatory chemicals that can cause brain atrophy and impact cognition,' Niotis told CNN in a prior interview. As the size of a person's belly grows, studies show the memory center of the brain shrinks and hallmark signs of Alzheimer's disease can appear — namely beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles. This accelerated march toward dementia can begin as early as the 40s and 50s, well before any cognitive decline is apparent, according to researchers. If visceral fat is about 10% of your body's total fat mass, that's normal and healthy, according to the Cleveland Clinic. So how do you know if that tummy starting to obscure your view of your feet is out of control? One way to tell is to measure your waistline. Non-pregnant women with a waist size greater than 35 inches (88.9 centimeters) and men with a waist greater than 40 inches (101.6 centimeters) are at higher risk from visceral fat, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can measure your waistline yourself: Without sucking in your tummy, wrap a tape measure over your waist at the top of your hip bone (typically across the belly button). Exhale normally and measure, making sure that the tape is parallel to the floor and snug, but not tight, across the skin. (No cheating by sucking in your stomach — this is your health at risk.) Another key sign is lean muscle mass. If you have more body fat than muscle mass, you're more likely to have visceral fat throughout the body, even the muscles, Freeman said. You can measure lean muscle mass with a yearly DEXA scan, a large noninvasive X-ray machine that measures bone density, internal visceral fat and muscle mass. There are also over-the-counter biometric scales that track percentages of body and visceral fat and lean muscle mass. Then there is common sense, Freeman said. Poor exercise and eating habits are a red flag for belly fat, now and in the future. 'Human beings were designed to be fit and strong and active,' he said. 'Eating unprocessed foods and not doing cardio and strength training are good signs that if you don't have excess now, you may soon — even if you don't look 'fat.'' Want to make a change? Visceral fat is reversible with lifestyle changes, Freeman said. 'The real holy grail, the elixir of youth, the key to staying young and aging gracefully is to remain strong and fit,' he said. Always check with your doctor before beginning any new exercise program. Then start with cardio to get the heart pumping, Freeman said. A good method is to briskly walk for at least 30 minutes a day —'but when I say briskly, I mean fast enough to lose your breath and not be able to hold a conversation. Keep that up for a half hour at a minimum.' The critical next step is to add resistance, otherwise known as strength training, he added. 'When I tell people to go walking or biking or swimming or jogging, I usually recommend that they do resistance concurrently,' Freeman said. 'Carry some weights with them, or put on a weighted backpack, put resistance on the bike or bike uphill, and put fins on their hands when they swim so that there's resistance in the water. Do whatever they need to try to combine the cardio with strength training.' Some of the most effective resistance exercises for building lean muscle and losing fat require multiple joints in the body to work together, according to the nonprofit American Council on Exercise. Dead lifts, lunges, planks, presses, pull-ups and push-ups require many muscles that elevate oxygen use and the release of hormones such as adrenaline that increase blood flow to muscles and boost overall heart rate — both key goals. As you build lean muscle mass, try to add weight, increase sets and repetition, and reduce the breaks you take between exercises. If you're unsure how to do that without injuring yourself, seek out the advice of a physical trainer, the council suggests. 'If you're doing all the right things and you're not building muscle mass, talk to your doctor to rule out issues such as low testosterone that may be hindering your progress,' Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of research at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, told CNN previously. Plant-based diets are excellent ways to improve nutrition and lose belly fat, experts say. 'Get rid of the standard American diet, filled with all the processed foods and added fats, sugars and the like and switch to a predominantly whole foods diet,' Freeman said. The Mediterranean diet — which is more of a lifestyle than a diet — has won top honors since 2019 for its focus on eating fruits, vegetables, grains, olive oil, nuts and seeds, while emphasizing the importance of meals with family and friends and daily exercise. The diet also slashes consumption of sweets and recommends small amounts of dairy and meat, especially red meat. Fish, however, is a staple, especially fatty fish such as sardines. Older people who followed a lower-calorie Mediterranean diet and minimally exercised up to six days a week gained muscle and lost a significant amount of body fat by the end of a year and kept much of it off for three years, according to an October 2023 study. A May 2024 study found the Mediterranean dietary pattern cut the risk of death for women by about 25% for more than 25 years, with reductions in both cancer and cardiovascular mortality. Changing when you eat may also help. Try a pattern of eating called intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating, Freeman said. However, he added, it doesn't work for everyone. 'People who are struggling with weight loss have to get their bodies out of its routine, and that's very hard to do,' Freeman said. 'Some people, not everyone, respond by some degree to time-restricted eating. 'You eat breakfast at 11 o'clock, you eat dinner by five o'clock — so six hours a day you're eating, and 18 hours a day you're not. Combine that with strength and cardio training and change the type of fuel to whole foods. You put all those together, and magic things start to happen.'
CNN
2 days ago
- Health
- CNN
Why getting rid of belly fat is key to a longer, healthier life
Food & health WellnessFacebookTweetLink Follow Get inspired by a weekly roundup on living well, made simple. Sign up for CNN's Life, But Better newsletter for information and tools designed to improve your well-being. Hiding deep inside the body, a dangerous type of fat wraps itself around vital organs such as the kidneys, liver and heart — triggering inflammation that can lead to insulin resistance and chronic diseases which cut life short. Called visceral fat, it can make bellies expand — but not for everyone. Even people who are thin can carry too much visceral fat around their organs, a phenomenon known as 'skinny fat.' 'Visceral fat is a marker for everything — insulin resistance, elevated cardiovascular risk, fatty liver and type 2 diabetes — all very bad outcomes that limit a long and healthy life,' said Dr. Andrew Freeman, director of cardiovascular prevention and wellness at National Jewish Health in Denver. Excessive deep belly fat is even linked to long-term cognitive health, said preventive neurologist Dr. Kellyann Niotis, who researches Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease risk reduction at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Boca Raton, Florida. 'Visceral fat is metabolically unhealthy and secretes a lot of inflammatory chemicals that can cause brain atrophy and impact cognition,' Niotis told CNN in a prior interview. As the size of a person's belly grows, studies show the memory center of the brain shrinks and hallmark signs of Alzheimer's disease can appear — namely beta-amyloid plaques and tau tangles. This accelerated march toward dementia can begin as early as the 40s and 50s, well before any cognitive decline is apparent, according to researchers. If visceral fat is about 10% of your body's total fat mass, that's normal and healthy, according to the Cleveland Clinic. So how do you know if that tummy starting to obscure your view of your feet is out of control? One way to tell is to measure your waistline. Non-pregnant women with a waist size greater than 35 inches (88.9 centimeters) and men with a waist greater than 40 inches (101.6 centimeters) are at higher risk from visceral fat, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. You can measure your waistline yourself: Without sucking in your tummy, wrap a tape measure over your waist at the top of your hip bone (typically across the belly button). Exhale normally and measure, making sure that the tape is parallel to the floor and snug, but not tight, across the skin. (No cheating by sucking in your stomach — this is your health at risk.) Another key sign is lean muscle mass. If you have more body fat than muscle mass, you're more likely to have visceral fat throughout the body, even the muscles, Freeman said. You can measure lean muscle mass with a yearly DEXA scan, a large noninvasive X-ray machine that measures bone density, internal visceral fat and muscle mass. There are also over-the-counter biometric scales that track percentages of body and visceral fat and lean muscle mass. Then there is common sense, Freeman said. Poor exercise and eating habits are a red flag for belly fat, now and in the future. 'Human beings were designed to be fit and strong and active,' he said. 'Eating unprocessed foods and not doing cardio and strength training are good signs that if you don't have excess now, you may soon — even if you don't look 'fat.'' Want to make a change? Visceral fat is reversible with lifestyle changes, Freeman said. 'The real holy grail, the elixir of youth, the key to staying young and aging gracefully is to remain strong and fit,' he said. Always check with your doctor before beginning any new exercise program. Then start with cardio to get the heart pumping, Freeman said. A good method is to briskly walk for at least 30 minutes a day —'but when I say briskly, I mean fast enough to lose your breath and not be able to hold a conversation. Keep that up for a half hour at a minimum.' The critical next step is to add resistance, otherwise known as strength training, he added. 'When I tell people to go walking or biking or swimming or jogging, I usually recommend that they do resistance concurrently,' Freeman said. 'Carry some weights with them, or put on a weighted backpack, put resistance on the bike or bike uphill, and put fins on their hands when they swim so that there's resistance in the water. Do whatever they need to try to combine the cardio with strength training.' Some of the most effective resistance exercises for building lean muscle and losing fat require multiple joints in the body to work together, according to the nonprofit American Council on Exercise. Dead lifts, lunges, planks, presses, pull-ups and push-ups require many muscles that elevate oxygen use and the release of hormones such as adrenaline that increase blood flow to muscles and boost overall heart rate — both key goals. As you build lean muscle mass, try to add weight, increase sets and repetition, and reduce the breaks you take between exercises. If you're unsure how to do that without injuring yourself, seek out the advice of a physical trainer, the council suggests. 'If you're doing all the right things and you're not building muscle mass, talk to your doctor to rule out issues such as low testosterone that may be hindering your progress,' Dr. Richard Isaacson, director of research at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases, told CNN previously. Plant-based diets are excellent ways to improve nutrition and lose belly fat, experts say. 'Get rid of the standard American diet, filled with all the processed foods and added fats, sugars and the like and switch to a predominantly whole foods diet,' Freeman said. The Mediterranean diet — which is more of a lifestyle than a diet — has won top honors since 2019 for its focus on eating fruits, vegetables, grains, olive oil, nuts and seeds, while emphasizing the importance of meals with family and friends and daily exercise. The diet also slashes consumption of sweets and recommends small amounts of dairy and meat, especially red meat. Fish, however, is a staple, especially fatty fish such as sardines. Older people who followed a lower-calorie Mediterranean diet and minimally exercised up to six days a week gained muscle and lost a significant amount of body fat by the end of a year and kept much of it off for three years, according to an October 2023 study. A May 2024 study found the Mediterranean dietary pattern cut the risk of death for women by about 25% for more than 25 years, with reductions in both cancer and cardiovascular mortality. Changing when you eat may also help. Try a pattern of eating called intermittent fasting or time-restricted eating, Freeman said. However, he added, it doesn't work for everyone. 'People who are struggling with weight loss have to get their bodies out of its routine, and that's very hard to do,' Freeman said. 'Some people, not everyone, respond by some degree to time-restricted eating. 'You eat breakfast at 11 o'clock, you eat dinner by five o'clock — so six hours a day you're eating, and 18 hours a day you're not. Combine that with strength and cardio training and change the type of fuel to whole foods. You put all those together, and magic things start to happen.'
National Geographic
11-04-2025
- Health
- National Geographic
Do crossword puzzles really keep your brain sharp?
They've long been seen as a way to prevent cognitive decline—but experts say the real key to brain health goes far beyond word games. An elderly person works on a crossword puzzle. These games can help keep the brain engaged—but studies show other habits, like exercise and education, play a far greater role in preventing cognitive decline. Photograph by Joel Sartore, Nat Geo Image Collection Ask almost anyone how to stay mentally sharp in old age; chances are someone will bring up crossword puzzles. Alongside Sudoku and word searches, these games have long been seen as 'workouts' for the brain. In fact, a 2020 study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience found these kinds of puzzles are among the most frequently engaged-in activities for brain training and cognitive benefits. But how did this belief become so widespread? And does it actually hold up? One theory is that people have simply noticed a pattern: older adults who seem mentally sharp often keep up with these kinds of games. But experts say the connection might not be as direct as we think. Kellyann Niotis, a preventive neurologist specializing in strategies to lower dementia risk, suggests people who enjoy doing puzzles may have high verbal intelligence, or verbal IQ, which correlates with a lower risk for dementia. 'People who are highly educated also have a higher verbal IQ, and we understand that these people are also at a lower risk,' she adds. Gary Small, the chair of psychiatry at Hackensack University Medical Center, grew up in a puzzle-loving household and shares the affection. But professionally, he wasn't entirely convinced that puzzles had real cognitive benefits. 'My theory is that to activate your neural circuits and exercise your brain, you have to find that sweet spot.' In other words, the puzzle has to be just the right amount of challenging. The concept aligns with the 'use it or lose it' principle often mentioned in discussions about physical fitness: Just as you need to exercise your muscles to keep them strong, regularly working on crossword puzzles could be a way to train and bolster the brain. But, like nearly all things neuroscience-related, the truth isn't so straightforward. While puzzles may seem like a simple way to keep your brain in shape, studies suggest the reality is more nuanced. A 2022 study published in NEJM Evidence found that individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) who did crossword puzzles over 12 weeks showed cognitive improvement. Still, it's important to note that while the results were impressive because they occurred in a very specific group of people already experiencing cognitive decline, the improvement was also modest. (Here's why adults need to make time for playtime.) A 2024 study also showed a link between puzzles and better cognitive abilities. It studied the lifestyle choices of more than 9,000 people and concluded that board games and puzzles were the strongest predictors of reasoning skills and a top predictor of memory and verbal ability (video games ranked just as high). While studies like these are encouraging for puzzle enthusiasts, there's a catch: the link between puzzles and brain health may be correlation instead of causation. And while puzzles may have some benefits, the research is much stronger in support of other lifestyle interventions for boosting brain health. Exercise and other proven ways to protect your brain So, what does move the needle when it comes to brain health? In his book Outlive: The Science and Art of Longevity, physician Peter Attia says exercise is 'the single most powerful item in our preventive tool kit,' especially for reducing the risk of Alzheimer's disease and cognitive decline. Regular exercise improves glucose control, which benefits the brain and helps increase blood flow. It's even been shown to increase the volume of the hippocampus, a critical brain region for learning and memory. According to Niotis, it also boosts neuroplasticity (i.e., helps the brain form new connections) and produces brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a protein essential for healthy cognitive function. (Here's what lifting weights does to your body—and your mind.) 'Exercise is tricky because we don't really understand the optimal dose or type or frequency of exercise,' she explains. 'But it's very clear that cardio exercise helps boost cognitive function.' Studies also show that older adults who exercise have better cognitive performance than those who aren't active. Beyond exercise, the 2024 report of The Lancet Commission on Dementia prevention, intervention, and care identified 13 additional modifiable risk factors at different stages during the life course. These include hearing loss, traumatic brain injury (TBI), hypertension, heavy drinking, obesity, smoking, depression, social isolation, physical inactivity, type 2 diabetes, air pollution, high cholesterol, untreated vision problems, and lower levels of education in early life. Notably absent from that list? Crossword puzzles. Why puzzlers seem to stay sharper with age If the research suggests that several other lifestyle interventions play a stronger role in brain health, then why does it appear to the general public that those who do puzzles stay sharper in old age? One possibility: puzzle enthusiasts may already be doing many of the right things. They're often more educated—a factor the Lancet identifies as a key modifiable risk for dementia—and they may be more likely to follow other brain-healthy habits, like staying socially engaged and physically active. (The reason dementia rates are rising is surprisingly simple.) Small suggests this is likely because studies show keeping the brain engaged builds cognitive reserve, which is your brain's ability to adapt and stay strong, even as it ages or faces challenges like disease or injury. The more you do to strengthen your brain, the better prepared it is to handle aging and any impending cognitive decline. He recalls a study from over 25 years ago, published in The New England Journal of Medicine, where he and other researchers scanned the brains of people with mild memory complaints as they performed a memory task. 'We found that people with the genetic risk [for dementia], their brains had to work harder to solve that same task,' Small explains. When researchers followed up two years later, those whose brains worked harder showed greater cognitive decline. Building a strong cognitive reserve will boost this ability for the brain to fight hard to compensate—until, eventually, it can no longer keep up. So, while crossword puzzles may help keep your mind engaged, they shouldn't be your only strategy—especially if you've already mastered them. As Niotis explains, 'When you start doing the same thing over and over again, that isn't really boosting cognitive reserve or helping support neuroplasticity because the novelty aspect of it is lost.' (What are the signs of dementia—and why is it so hard to diagnose?) In the end, there's nothing wrong with doing crossword puzzles. And the scientific evidence shows they're far from cognitively bankrupt and even provide some beneficial mental stimulation. However, truly reducing your risk for dementia requires a multipronged approach that should always include plenty of consistent exercise. A strategy like this will likely offer far greater protection against cognitive decline than a single puzzle ever could.
