A workout a day keeps Alzheimer's at bay!
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Currently, there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease. The treatments available for it are all about managing the patient’s symptoms and making their life as comfortable as possible.
But that doesn’t mean that we are powerless against it.
Scientists may not have discovered a cure for the disease yet, but a recent study has found that there is something that we can do to ward off early signs and symptoms of dementia, and that is – to get moving.
Staying physically fit can cut your risk of dementia by up to 33 percent. Credit: Shutterstock/pikselstock.
Dr Edward Zamrini, the author of the study, has observed that as people's fitness improved, their risk of Alzheimer's disease significantly decreased as well.
Meaning, people can work towards making incremental changes and improvements in their physical fitness to lessen their risks of developing Alzheimer's in the following years.
The study observed around 649,605 US military veterans, with an average age of 61, in the Veterans Health Administration database. They were followed for an average of nine years and were noted to have not contracted Alzheimer's disease at the start of the study.
To figure out how physically fit the participants are, their cardiorespiratory fitness were determined. Cardiorespiratory fitness is a measure of how well a person’s body transports oxygen to their muscles, and how well their muscles are able to absorb oxygen during exercise.
After determining their level of fitness, they were divided into five groups: from the least fit to the fittest.
Then they went through a series of physical fitness tests, such as the treadmill test and the exercise capacity test, to record the highest amount of physical exertion an older person can sustain.
By simply brisk walking every day, you can cut your risks of developing Alzheimer’s significantly. Credit: Shutterstock/4 PM production.
The results of the study revealed that the people in the fittest group were 33% less likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than those in the least fit group.
Meanwhile, the second fittest group was 26% less likely to develop the disease, while the middle group was 20% less likely.
Dr Zamrini has found the idea of reducing your risk for Alzheimer's disease by simply increasing your activity to be “very promising”, especially during these times when there are no adequate treatments to prevent or stop the progression of the disease.
However, further studies still need to be conducted, given that the scope of Dr Zamrini’s study is limited to mostly white men participants.
In April, Dr Zamrini will present his findings at the world’s largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals – the American Academy of Neurology’s 74th Annual Meeting in Seattle.
To know more about Alzheimer’s Disease, check out this video below:
Credit: Dementia Australia.
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