Getting and Staying Fit May Ward Off Dementia
Apr 26, 2013
Waxahachie, TX (Law Firm Newswire) April 25, 2013 – A new study shows that exercise may ward off dementia.
The latest aging statistics indicate that as many as one in eight adults over the age of 65 is affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Now a new study released by the Annals of Internal Medicine suggests that exercise in middle-age may be an effective tool in warding off later life dementia.
“Alzheimer’s continues to be a major health concern for many people as they age,” commented Dallas elder law attorney John Hale.
Researchers examined data from a patient visitor database, The Cooper Center Longitudinal Study, in Dallas, Texas. The database has also been used previously to help link fitness levels to increased life expectancy, as well as the lowering of risk for diabetes, stroke, and other ailments. Researchers studied the data to examine if there was a clear connection between ongoing cardiovascular fitness and diminished brain function. They looked at the fitness levels as determined by a treadmill test of almost 20,000 middle-aged, healthy individuals and then tracked how many of them had developed a diagnosis of dementia 20-to-30 years later.
According to the data, individuals with the highest conditioning level later showed to have lower risk of developing any dementia disease by 36 percent, compared to those with lower levels of fitness. The data was fitness level-graded by gender and age; “low fit” participants who could manage a slow jog were the bottom 20 percent of participants, and “high fit” participants such as endurance runners were the top 20 percent. The data differed from similar studies as the fitness level of each participant was objectively examined rather than self-reported. However, as other lifestyle activities such as eating habits were self-reported, the study refrained from stating unequivocally that cardiovascular fitness was directly correlated to a lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s and other dementia diseases.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia. Currently there is no cure; the disease worsens as it progresses, and eventually causes death. Alzheimer’s typically is diagnosed in people over 65, although a less common form of early-onset Alzheimer’s may occur in younger individuals. It is predicted that Alzheimer’s will affect 1 in 85 people globally by 2050.
John Hale is a Dallas elder law attorney and Dallas estate planning lawyer with The Hale Law Firm. To learn more visit http://www.thehalelawfirm.com.
The Hale Law Firm
100 Executive Court, Suite 3
Waxahachie, TX 75165
Call: 888.425.3911
