Exercising regularly can prevent dementia

Vigorous daily exercise can significantly reduce the risk of dementia, a 35-year study has found.

By: Admin | | Published: December 10, 2013 3:58 pm

Vigorous daily exercise can significantly reduce the risk of dementia, a 35-year study has found. Also Read - Ganesh Chaturthi 2020: 4 reasons an eco-friendly Ganesha is good for you

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Taking regular exercise, non-smoking, a low body weight, a healthy diet and a low alcohol intake are five healthy behaviours that the long-term study identified as being integral to leading a disease-free lifestyle. Also Read - Weight loss diet: How to eat healthy in a restaurant when you want to lose weight

People who consistently followed four or five of these behaviours experienced a 60 per cent decline in dementia and cognitive decline – with exercise being the strongest mitigating factor – as well as 70 per cent fewer instances of diabetes, heart disease and stroke, compared with people who followed none.

The number of people living with dementia worldwide is set to treble and reach 135 million by 2050, according to a recent analysis by Alzheimer’s Disease International (ADI). (Read: What every dementia or Alzheimer’s caregiver ought to know)

‘The size of reduction in the instance of disease owing to these simple healthy steps has really amazed us and is of enormous importance in an ageing population,’ said Principle Investigator Professor Peter Elwood from Cardiff University’s School of Medicine. (Read:

‘What the research shows is that following a healthy lifestyle confers surprisingly large benefits to health – healthy behaviours have a far more beneficial effect than any medical treatment or preventative procedure,’ said Elwood.

‘If the men had been urged to adopt just one additional healthy behaviour at the start of the study 35 years ago, and if only half of them complied, then during the ensuing 35 years there would have been a 13 per cent reduction in dementia, a 12 per cent drop in diabetes, six per cent less vascular disease and a five per cent reduction in deaths,’ Elwood said.

The Caerphilly Cohort Study recorded the healthy behaviours of 2,235 men aged 45-59 in Caerphilly, South Wales, UK.

What is dementia?

Dementia refers to a group of degenerative mental diseases in which there is a serious loss of cognitive function which goes beyond normal ageing. Symptoms include confusion, mood swings, long-term memory loss and a gradual loss of bodily functions. Alzheimer’s is the most common form of dementia. It is caused due to plaque deposition in the brain’s neurons which affects its functioning and causes it to die. Why this happens is still not clear though research suggests it’s linked to genetic susceptibility and mental age. (Read more..)

Early symptoms of dementia

The most common early symptoms of dementia are:

Memory loss

Declining memory, especially short-term memory, is the most common early symptom of dementia. People with ordinary forgetfulness can still remember other facts associated with the thing they have forgotten. For example, they may briefly forget their next-door neighbour’s name but they still know the person they are talking to is their next-door neighbour. A person with dementia will not only forget their neighbour’s name but also the context.

Difficulty performing familiar tasks

People with dementia often find it hard to complete everyday tasks that are so familiar we usually do not think about how to do them. A person with dementia may not know in what order to put clothes on or the steps for preparing a meal.

Problems with language

Occasionally everyone has trouble finding the right word but a person with dementia often forgets simple words or substitutes unusual words, making speech or writing hard to understand.

Disorientation to time and place

We sometimes forget the day of the week or where we are going but people with dementia can become lost in familiar places such as the road they live in, forget where they are or how they got there, and not know how to get back home. A person with dementia may also confuse night and day.

Poor or decreased judgement

People with dementia may dress inappropriately, wearing several layers of clothes on a warm day or very few on a cold day. (Read more: What are the early symptoms of dementia?)

With inputs from PTI

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Published : December 10, 2013 3:58 pm

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