Exercise Cuts Dementia Risk, 35-Year Study Suggests

Lisa Franchi December 10, 2013

There are many things we do that are destructive to our health. On the other hand, there are just a few health practices that we should observe to attain good health, and possibly, cut our risk of dementia.

A group of researchers from Cardiff University’s School of Medicine have identified five healthy behaviours as being integral to having the best chance of leading a disease-free lifestyle. These, according to principal investigator Professor Peter Elwood, “have a far more beneficial effect than any medical treatment or preventative procedure”.

"Taking up and following a healthy lifestyle is however the responsibility of the individual him or herself. Sadly, the evidence from this study shows that very few people follow a fully healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, our findings reveal that while the number of people who smoke has gone down since the study started, the number of people leading a fully healthy lifestyle has not changed,” the researcher added.

The five lifestyle behaviours necessary for good health were: taking regular exercise, non-smoking, a low bodyweight, a healthy diet and a low alcohol intake. The study involved 2,235 men aged 45-59 in Caerphilly, South Wales. It examined the relationship between healthy lifestyles, chronic disease and cognitive decline for over 35 years. The researchers also monitored the changes in the participants’ take-up of healthy behaviours.

Those who consistently followed four or five of these behaviours experienced a 60 per cent decline their risk of dementia and cognitive decline. And among these, exercise was the strongest mitigating factor. Participants who followed the healthy behaviours also had 70 per cent fewer chances of diabetes, heart disease and stroke, compared with people who followed none.

"We have known for some time that what is good for your heart is also good for your head, and this study provides more evidence to show that healthy living could significantly reduce the chances of developing dementia.” says Dr Doug Brown of the Alzheimer’s Society. “These large, longitudinal studies are expensive and complicated to run, but are essential to understand how dementia can be prevented. We are calling on the G8 Summit next week to commit to greater funding of important studies such as this one which give us hope for reducing the impact of dementia in the future.”

Source of this article:

Exercise ’significant role’ in reducing risk of dementia, long-term study finds