The results are in. Rob and I have been telling everyone for years, but without any scientific evidence other than our own experiences. Now it’s official: Exercise is the best thing seniors can do to prevent dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease and other brain disorders.
This week, World Health Organization (WHO) published its first guidelines on the prevention and management of dementia. While the biggest risk factor is aging, it ranked physical activity as top of the list of prevention strategies. The other top recommendations to prevent dementia and lower risk of cognitive decline were:
- Stop smoking
- Avoid harmful use of alcohol
- Eat a healthy diet
- Lower hypertension
- Lower cholesterol
- Treat diabetes
Prevent Dementia: A Worldwide Problem
Dementia affects around 50 million people globally, with nearly 10 million new cases annually―a figure that is set to triple by 2050. The cost of caring for dementia patients is expected to hit $2 trillion by 2030, WHO Assistant Director General Ren Minghui wrote in the report.
“While there is no curative treatment for dementia, the proactive management of modifiable risk factors can delay or slow onset or progression of the disease,” Ren wrote.
Half of Seniors Will Have Dementia at Age 85
The greatest known risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease is increasing age. Most individuals with the disease are 65 or older, although individuals may develop familial, or early onset Alzheimer’s, as early as their 30’s and 40’s. The likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s doubles about every five years after age 65. After age 85, the risk reaches nearly 50 percent.
But another study suggests that one-third of cases could be prevented. This is good news for all seniors, but the key is we have to start as young as possible if we want to prevent dementia and Alzheimer’s when we’re older.
The study was originally published in The Lancet and it listed all the risk factors including:
- Getting an education (staying in school until over the age of 15)
- Reducing high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes
- Avoiding or treating hearing loss in mid-life
- Not smoking
- Getting physical exercise
- Reducing depression and social isolation later in life
And now the WHO scientists have analyzed the research and determined that if we start when we are 40, 50 or 60, we can do a lot to save ourselves from the horrible fate of losing our memories and minds as we grow older. The younger we start an exercise program, the better.
Although age is the strongest known risk factor for cognitive decline, dementia is not a natural or inevitable consequence of aging.
Make Exercise Your Medicine
You don’t have to become an athlete or gym rat. Even some energetic walking for as little as 30 minutes a day can save your brain. Sure, eating a healthy diet helps, so do puzzles, learning a musical instrument, or language, and engaging in learning new things. Computer games and usage can give your brain a workout.
Communicating on social media sites and staying in touch with friends adds additional stimulus to your memory and social brain. Whatever you can do, whatever your physical condition or limitations, work with what you can do. Try involving friends and make exercise more like play.
While brain disorders are never simple and never due to one sole cause, the best thing you can do to prevent dementia is to move your body.
Perhaps science will revise the statement that aging is the biggest risk factor for dementia. It could be that aging while sedentary is a sure path to losing your mind. Think about it … while walking or working out.
Next time you “don’t feel like exercising,” ask yourself what it will feel like to not remember your loved ones. Move it or lose it. Your brain will thank you.
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