In the ring: Dementia v. Exercise
You don’t need to be a star athlete or an Olympian to participate. Even if the minimum amount of exercise you are able to do is a slow walk, either around your neighborhood or a local mall, or go swimming, the main thing is that you do something—especially if you want to preserve your memory for as long as possible.
That is the main take-away of a recent study on exercise and the staving off of dementia. The study began with 1,700 adults over the age of 65. Participants were given initial tests of mental skills such as memory, language ability and judgment, to make sure that none of the participants displayed early signs of dementia. If they didn’t pass the initial threshold tests in this regard, they went no further in the study, because researchers were trying to isolate the correlation between exercise and the delayed onset of dementia.
This group was also asked about their exercise habits, and anything counted, whether it was weight training, riding a bike, or dancing. If they responded that they did exercise, they were asked how many days a week they were active. Over 75 percent of them exercised a minimum of three times a week. They were also asked questions relating to their lifestyle, such as whether or not they smoked, drank alcohol, and what their educational background and medical history were.
Next, the group of 1,700 was followed for six years. They were not told to do anything specific or make any changes. And over the six year period, those who exercised a minimum of three times per week—even if it was just moderate exercise—were nearly 32 percent less likely to develop dementia, and specifically Alzheimer’s, than those who exercised less than three times per week. Also, the evidence proved that you didn’t have to be that sweat-until-you-drop athlete to delay the onset.
Physical skills for this group were also tested, such as their balance and grip strength, and how quickly they could perform other movement tasks, such as getting up from a chair. Those who didn’t perform so well on these tasks but exercised despite their level of ability were found to have cut their risk of dementia the most.
No matter what your age and whether or not you’ve ever exercised regularly, it’s never too late to begin. Remember what it was like to play when you were a child? If you say you can’t remember, I recommend you visit a local playground and observe, then capture that feeling again by moving—just for the sheer joy of it.
