TL;DR
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A Being Patient report used a personal DEXA scan to explore research linking visceral fat with high blood pressure, a known risk factor for damage to brain blood vessels. The cited evidence does not establish that a person’s visceral-fat measurement can predict dementia, and the article’s author stresses blood-pressure monitoring instead.
A personal DEXA scan has prompted Being Patient founder Deborah Kan to examine whether visceral fat — fat stored deep in the abdomen around internal organs — may relate to brain health. The research she cites links visceral fat with high blood pressure, which can harm blood vessels in the brain, but it does not show that a belly-fat reading by itself predicts Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.
Kan says she paid about $50 for a DEXA scan at a local scanning business. The scan took about seven minutes, and its report estimated that she had 0.41 pounds of visceral fat, placing her in the lowest-fat group among 27,000 people in her age group, according to the report. She notes that customers who seek paid body scans may not represent the wider population.
She distinguishes the scan from an MRI: DEXA estimates visceral-fat quantity, while an MRI can show where the fat is located. Her personal result is not research evidence and cannot establish that running caused her low measurement or that the number indicates her brain-health outlook. Kan also says the scan report described visceral fat as associated with elevated risks of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and some cancers.
The article points to a seven-year study of 903 Dallas residents led by researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. Participants began with normal blood pressure, and imaging was used to assess fat distribution. One quarter developed high blood pressure during the study. Body weight was associated with who developed it, but after researchers accounted for fat location, visceral fat was the only fat type still associated with high blood pressure, the report says.
Blood Pressure Links Fat to Brain Risk
The possible connection matters because high blood pressure can damage blood vessels that supply the brain. The Being Patient report cites a 2024 study of more than 31,000 older adults across 14 countries, in which untreated high blood pressure was associated with a 42% higher chance of developing Alzheimer’s. The report says that this excess risk was not seen among people whose blood pressure was controlled.
That finding concerns blood pressure, not a direct effect of visceral fat on Alzheimer’s. Taken together, the research suggests a possible chain worth studying: visceral fat may be related to high blood pressure, and high blood pressure is linked to brain and dementia risk. It does not establish that measuring abdominal fat can diagnose, forecast or prevent dementia. For readers, the distinction keeps a body-composition score from being mistaken for a brain-health test.
Kan quotes geriatrician Dr. Nate Chin, medical director of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, describing blood pressure monitoring as the best available “window” into brain health. He recommends checking blood pressure regularly and keeping it in the normal range. The article presents this as his advice, not as a substitute for individual medical care.
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From Fat Distribution to Blood Pressure
The Dallas study adds a focus on where fat is carried, rather than body weight alone. Its participants all had normal blood pressure at the start, allowing researchers to observe which factors were associated with later hypertension. The report says the study found an association after accounting for fat distribution; it does not provide evidence that visceral fat was the sole cause of hypertension.
Kan also notes that other studies have examined fat around the kidneys and its possible influence on hypertension. She says more research is needed to understand that relationship. The evidence discussed in the article therefore centers on blood pressure as a potential link between fat distribution and brain-vessel health, not on a proven direct pathway from hidden belly fat to dementia.
Her account is a first-person report rather than a clinical study. The 0.41-pound measurement describes one person’s scan result, and the comparison group comes from the scan provider’s report. It should not be treated as a population estimate or as a threshold for brain health.
“My body contains 0.41 pounds of visceral fat.”
— Deborah Kan, Being Patient founder and CEO
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What a Fat Scan Cannot Predict
The article does not establish whether visceral fat directly affects brain health, or whether reducing it lowers the risk of Alzheimer’s or other dementias. The cited findings connect fat distribution with high blood pressure and separately connect untreated high blood pressure with Alzheimer’s risk; they do not prove that one causes the other through a single pathway.
It is also unclear how well a consumer DEXA scan estimates an individual’s risk compared with other clinical measures. Kan says her scan estimated total visceral fat, whereas an MRI can show its location. The report gives no basis for treating her result, or its comparison with the scan provider’s age-group sample, as a medical cutoff.
The Dallas study’s association does not show that visceral fat caused the cases of high blood pressure. The report does not provide detailed study methods or the full analysis, and the kidney-fat relationship remains under study. Individual risk and next steps depend on a person’s health and should be discussed with a qualified health professional.
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Blood Pressure Is the Practical Follow-Up
Kan says she plans to focus on checking her blood pressure rather than aiming for zero visceral fat. She relays Chin’s suggestion to use a home cuff a few times a week and says the target he cited is below 120 over 80. Readers should consult a qualified health professional about what readings mean for them and whether home monitoring is appropriate.
The report does not announce a new trial or a scheduled research milestone. Further research would be needed to clarify how visceral and kidney-area fat relate to hypertension, and whether changes in those fat stores affect brain outcomes. Until then, the evidence described supports caution: a scan can provide a body-composition estimate, but it is not a standalone measure of dementia risk.
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Key Questions
No. The report does not show that visceral fat predicts Alzheimer’s. It describes research associating visceral fat with high blood pressure and separate evidence linking untreated high blood pressure with Alzheimer’s risk.
What did the Dallas study find?
In a seven-year study of 903 people who began with normal blood pressure, one quarter developed high blood pressure. The report says visceral fat remained associated with hypertension after researchers accounted for fat location and body weight.
Can a DEXA scan show where visceral fat is?
According to Kan, a DEXA scan estimates the total amount of visceral fat, while an MRI can show where it is located. A scan result alone does not establish a person’s brain-health risk.
What health measure does the report emphasize?
The report emphasizes blood pressure monitoring, citing Dr. Nate Chin’s recommendation to check it regularly. Ask a qualified health professional how to interpret readings and what range is appropriate for your circumstances.
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