Exercise Linked To Reduced Dementia Risk

Getting into health and fitness as early on as possible is one of the best ways to ensure that you can protect yourself as you get older. 

Regular exercise has long been associated with reduced risk of many health conditions, including heart disease, stroke, cancer and early death… but now new research suggests that it can also help protect against dementia, particularly if you have a genetic predisposition for the condition.

Carried out by researchers from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, this latest study indicates that people genetically at risk of dementia can reduce the chances of it developing by up to 35 per cent through increasing their fitness.

Furthermore, high levels of fitness were also found to be associated with better cognitive ability, as well.

Weili Xu, lead author of the study and professor of geriatric epidemiology, commented: “Our study shows that higher fitness is linked to better cognitive function and reduced dementia risk. In addition, high fitness could attenuate the effect of genetic risk for all dementias by up to 35 per cent.

“Our findings suggest that maintaining good fitness may be a strategy to prevent dementia, even among people with high genetic susceptibility.”

The body’s ability to deliver oxygen to its muscles is based on cardiorespiratory fitness and this declines as we get older and we lose more skeletal muscle. Fitness levels start to decline by between three and six per cent per decade during our 20s and 30s, but this then accelerates to over 20 per cent per decade by the time we reach our 70s.

As such, prioritising exercise throughout the course of your life can make a huge difference to your overall health and wellbeing as you get older, reducing the likelihood of developing all sorts of diseases, including dementia.

Exercise tips for older people

Although we all know that keeping active is essential for good health, it can be difficult to exercise if your mobility is restricted or if you live with a chronic long-term health condition.

Being more active doesn’t have to involve going to the gym or going for a run. It can simply mean moving more each day, in line with your own physical capabilities. Even a few little changes here and there can make a big difference to how you feel, physically, mentally and emotionally.

If you find yourself sitting a lot, aim to get up once an hour to stretch and move around if you’re able to. If not, just moving your arms and legs while sitting can help get the blood flowing.

Chair-based exercises are also great options for older people and you can do these easily at home by yourself, although it’s possible that there are also classes in your local area where you can join in with others, helping you to socialise at the same time.

Gardening is also excellent exercise and it’s been found to help improve cognitive function, as well, so could be another way to go about preventing the onset of dementia.

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