This could be the key to a younger, healthier brain

Want to stay sharp into old age? You might want to start hitting the gym.

New research suggests that a hidden trait in your body could hold the key to maintaining a younger brain — and the implications are huge.

“Better brain health, in turn, lowers the risk for future brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s,” Dr. Cyrus Raji , a neuroimaging scientist and senior author of the study, said in a statement .

In the study, Raji and his colleagues evaluated 1,164 healthy adults averaging 55 years old using whole-body MRI scans.

These high-tech machines provide a detailed view of muscle, brain tissue and two types of fat: subcutaneous, which lies just under the skin, and visceral , the hidden kind that wraps around your organs deep in the abdomen.

The researchers then used AI to measure ea