Exercise May Reduce Risk of Dementia

Dementia is something at least five million people in the United States are already suffering from, and that number is likely to escalate quickly as the population ages. However, a new study has shown that regular physical exercise may help prevent dementia from taking hold.

Regular workouts throughout midlife have far-reaching benefits: the exercise reduces the risk of high blood pressure, adult onset diabetes, heart disease, and cancer. Now, it’s been revealed that those same workouts may also reduce the likelihood of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), the precursor to dementia.

Improvements in MCI can be gained with as little as six months of regular aerobic exercise, and exercise also works as a prophylactic against MCI. MCI affects about 20 percent of the population over the age of 70, and those who have MCI are 10 times as likely or more to develop dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Exercise may be the key to reducing the risk.

Dr. Yonas E. Geda, a researcher at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, analyzed more than 1,300 questionnaires provided by participants over the age of 80 who had no evidence of MCI or dementia. Those participants in the study whose lifestyles included regular, moderate exercise (yoga, aerobics, walking) nearly halved their risk of developing dementia. Light exercise, like golfing and intense exercise, like jogging, did not have the same benefit.

Geda believes that exercise may provide such a significant reduction in the risk of developing MCI or dementia because of benefits to the nervous system as well as increased blood flow in the brain. However, more research is needed to determine whether or not people who engaged in regular exercise also exhibited more discipline with their eating habits and ability to manage stress.