TL;DR
A Being Patient report connects research on visceral belly fat, high blood pressure and brain health, while describing the author’s personal DEXA scan. The evidence does not show that a low visceral-fat estimate predicts an individual’s brain health; blood pressure is a more established factor to monitor.
A Being Patient report on visceral fat describes research connecting fat stored deep in the abdomen with high blood pressure, a condition associated with risks to brain health. The article’s author, Deborah Kan, reports that a commercial DEXA scan estimated her visceral fat at 0.41 pounds, but that personal result does not establish whether her brain is healthy or predict her future risk of dementia.
Kan, Being Patient’s founder and CEO, said she paid about $50 for a DEXA scan at a local scanning business. The scan took about seven minutes, and she received a report that estimated her visceral fat at 0.41 pounds. The report placed her in the lowest visceral-fat group among 27,000 people in her age group, according to her account. She noted that the comparison group may be unusually health-conscious because people who pay for body scans may differ from the general population.
The article distinguishes DEXA from MRI: Kan said DEXA estimates the amount of visceral fat, while an MRI can show where it is located. The scan’s figure is a measure of body composition, not a direct measurement of brain health. The report does not describe an independent assessment of the commercial scan’s accuracy or explain how its estimate should be interpreted for an individual.
As supporting evidence, Kan cited a University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center study that followed 903 people in Dallas for seven years. All had normal blood pressure at the outset, and researchers used imaging to map their body fat. About one-quarter developed high blood pressure. Body weight predicted who developed it, but after accounting for fat distribution, the researchers found that visceral fat was the fat type still associated with developing hypertension. This association does not, by itself, establish that visceral fat directly caused high blood pressure.
Blood Pressure Connects Fat to Brain Risk
The potential relevance to brain health runs through blood vessels and blood pressure, rather than a scan directly revealing cognitive risk. High blood pressure can damage blood vessels around the brain. The Being Patient report also 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 disease. The report says that extra risk was not seen among people whose blood pressure was under control.
Those findings make blood pressure a more established practical concern than a single visceral-fat score. They do not show that reducing visceral fat will prevent Alzheimer’s, or that a person with a low estimate is protected. The studies describe associations and risk patterns across groups; they cannot determine an individual’s future outcome. The article’s useful distinction is between an emerging clue about fat distribution and a known, measurable cardiovascular risk factor.
Kan said the scan prompted her to pay closer attention to blood pressure. That is a personal response, not a clinical recommendation based on her scan. For readers, the report underlines that a normal body weight or low estimated visceral fat does not replace routine attention to blood pressure and other health factors.
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What the Scan Can—and Cannot—Show
Visceral fat is fat located deep in the abdomen around internal organs, unlike the fat just beneath the skin. It can be difficult to estimate from appearance or body weight alone, which is why imaging and some consumer devices offer measurements. However, the methods and comparison groups differ, and a number from one service should not be treated as a diagnosis.
The Dallas study described in the report began with participants who had normal blood pressure and tracked later hypertension over seven years. Other research mentioned by Kan has examined fat around the kidneys and its possible role in hypertension, but she said more study is needed to understand that relationship. These findings add to research on how fat location may relate to health; they do not establish a brain-health screening test based on belly fat.
Kan also cited advice from Dr. Nate Chin, a geriatrician and medical director of the Wisconsin Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Chin told her that monitoring blood pressure is the best available window into brain health and suggested checking it at home a few times a week, with a normal range below 120/80. That is the advice as reported by Kan; people with questions about their own readings or care should consult a qualified health professional.
“My body contains 0.41 pounds of visceral fat.”
— Deborah Kan, Being Patient founder and CEO
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Limits of Fat and Dementia Evidence
The report does not establish that visceral fat causes dementia, that lowering it reduces Alzheimer’s risk, or that a DEXA estimate can predict cognitive decline. The Dallas research linked visceral fat with later high blood pressure, while the cited international study linked untreated high blood pressure with Alzheimer’s risk. These are separate findings and do not prove a complete causal chain from belly fat to dementia.
It is also unclear how closely the commercial scan’s estimate reflects a person’s actual visceral-fat level, how comparable its age-group reference set is to the wider population, or what a result such as 0.41 pounds means for an individual’s health. The report provides no clinical interpretation of Kan’s score. It also does not establish whether running caused her low result.
More research is needed on the relationship between fat around the kidneys and hypertension, as well as on whether interventions that change visceral fat affect brain outcomes. No result from the scan can substitute for an assessment by a health professional.
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Blood Pressure Is the Practical Measure
The Being Patient article reports no new trial, policy change or scheduled research milestone. Its next step is personal: Kan said she plans to monitor her blood pressure at home a few times a week after the scan prompted her to focus on it. Readers interested in a similar check can discuss appropriate measurement and interpretation with a qualified health professional, especially if readings are elevated or inconsistent.
For the research question, the next evidence needed would clarify whether visceral-fat measures improve risk assessment beyond established factors, and whether changing fat distribution changes hypertension or brain-health outcomes. Until such evidence is available, a body scan should be understood as an estimate of body composition—not a test of brain health—and the dementia links described in the report should be read as associations, not a prediction for any one person.
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Key Questions
Can a DEXA scan tell me whether my brain is healthy?
No. In the report, DEXA is described as estimating the amount of visceral fat. It does not assess brain function or diagnose dementia.
What did the Dallas study find about visceral fat?
Researchers followed 903 people who began with normal blood pressure for seven years. About one-quarter developed high blood pressure, and visceral fat remained associated with hypertension after researchers accounted for where participants carried fat. The finding does not prove that visceral fat caused those cases.
Does high blood pressure cause Alzheimer’s disease?
The Being Patient report cites a 2024 study in which untreated high blood pressure was associated with a 42% higher chance of Alzheimer’s among more than 31,000 older adults in 14 countries. The reported association does not prove that hypertension directly causes Alzheimer’s in an individual.
Does a low visceral-fat estimate mean my dementia risk is low?
No such conclusion can be drawn from the scan described. The report does not show that a low visceral-fat result predicts lower dementia risk or removes the need to monitor other health factors, including blood pressure.
What remains to be studied?
Researchers still need to clarify how visceral fat relates to hypertension and whether changing fat levels affects dementia outcomes. The report also says more research is needed on the possible relationship between fat around the kidneys and high blood pressure.
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