A new research has shown that totaling 10,000 steps per day in the fitness session we dedicate to our body halves the risk of incurring in half by 50%. dementia.
The results of the study were published in the scientific journal JAMA Neurology.
Prevention for dementia: try to take 10,000 steps a day
As the world’s population ages, cases of dementia are also on the rise worldwide. The World Health Organization (WHO) said 55 million people currently suffer from dementia and the number is set to rise to 139 million by 2050. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that Alzheimer’s disease , the most common form of dementia, affects around 5.8 million people in the United States alone.
Good news for those struggling to incorporate exercise into their daily routine, a new study has shown that taking around 4,000 steps a day can reduce the risk of dementia by 25%. There is growing evidence that regular exercise not only benefits overall health, but is also one of the most effective ways to reduce the risk of developing dementia.
Other risk factors we can’t control include gender (females are more at risk than males) and ethnicity. However, lifestyle changes, such as increasing exercise, controlling blood pressure, and keeping the brain stimulated, can reduce a person’s risk of dementia, even for those who have one or more of the risk.
Dr Anton Porsteinsson, Professor and Director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Care, Research and Education Program (AD-CARE) at the University of Rochester Medical Center, said: “A broad and healthy approach that takes into account lifestyle , diet, exercise, cognitive stimulation, socialization and sleep makes all the difference. Many of them can be effective even if started later in life ”.
And exercise doesn’t necessarily mean sweating in the gym or playing a new sport but it could help Increasing your daily step count to around 10,000 steps a day could halve your risk of developing dementia.
The study in question, on 10,000 steps per day, used data from the British biobank. The 78,430 participants, of whom 44.7% were male and 55.3% female, had a mean age of 61.1 years. All participants were free of cardiovascular disease and dementia when they enrolled in the study. The researchers followed the participants after an average of 6.9 years (6.4–7.5 years).
For the study, participants had to wear an accelerometer on their dominant wrist 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to measure 10,000 steps a day. The researchers then used an algorithm to calculate the step count from the data collected by the accelerometer.
The researchers also checked for variables such as age, gender, race, socioeconomic status, smoking, general health, and diet when analyzing the data. At follow-up, 866 participants, or 1.1%, had developed dementia.
While welcoming the study’s findings, Dr. Claire Sexton, senior director of science and awareness programs at the Alzheimer’s Association, who was not involved in the study, said: “There are some important caveats to this study. The sampled population was predominantly white, and therefore may not be generalizable to other races / ethnic groups. Even this study does not demonstrate a definitive causality between the step count and the risk of dementia; therefore, further research is needed ”.
“The Alzheimer’s Association is conducting a clinical trial that combines exercise with other lifestyle factors, such as diet and social / cognitive engagement, to determine whether these factors, in combination, reduce the risk of cognitive decline.” , he added.
Dr. Porsteinsson agreed: “There are definite limits to observational cohort studies, but also advantages. They generate hypotheses, that is, they direct us towards what we may want to study further in a controlled and randomized study. The good news here is that there is a lot of evidence to suggest that exercise is beneficial in staving off dementia ”.
“This is an important study that can help inform public health guidelines on the amount of physical activity needed to achieve health benefits,” said Dr. Sexton.
“These results are not surprising given the robust data we have linking physical activity and improved cognition. A strength of this paper is the use of an objective and widely understood measure of step count rather than self-reported data, ”she noted.
The researchers found that both step count and stride intensity were associated with a reduced risk of dementia. For maximum benefit, a 50% reduction in the risk of dementia, participants had to take approximately 10,000 steps per day. Above this number, no further benefits were observed.
The good thing, however, for those unable to reach 10,000 steps per day was that only 3,826 steps reduced the risk of dementia by 25%. Dr Porsteinsson agreed that any exercise helps reduce risk: “It is never too late to start and even a relatively small effort is beneficial and can therefore be added as endurance improves,” said the expert.
Intentional steps of 10,000 steps per day, translated into more than 40 steps per minute, such as when taking a walk, have increased the association with a reduced risk of dementia: “Here we see a ‘dose’ effect, that is, a longer walk. intense and focused is more beneficial than leisurely walking. In addition, people often walk with others (walk and talk) so that they can also include a social component and an interactive component, ”said Dr. Anton Porsteinsson.
This study adds to building evidence that staying active with age can maintain physical and mental health and improve longevity. Another large-scale study of nearly 650,000 military veterans found that being physically fit reduces the risk of dementia by up to 33%. In this study, even a small amount of exercise was found to help reduce the risk of dementia.
An Alzheimer’s Society analysis of 11 studies found that in addition to exercising regularly, not smoking, moderating alcohol intake, maintaining a healthy body weight, and eating a healthy diet, it was regular exercise to have the greatest impact on dementia risk.
For Alzheimer’s disease, regular exercise reduced the risk by up to 45%: “The bottom line is that we know that physical activity supports good cardiovascular health and what is good for the heart is good for the brain. Find something you enjoy doing and stick to it, ”concluded Dr. Claire Sexton.
Valter Giantin, Geriatrician, speaking of the 10,000 steps a day, said: “It may seem strange, but exercise protects our brain health more than other practices. Some recent works show how, even in the presence of a genetic predisposition to dementia, regular physical exercise is able to compensate, almost to zero, the risk related to familiarity “.
Ana Verdelho, lead author of the study and neuroscience researcher at the Santa Maria Hospital of the University of Lisbon, Portugal, added: “It is highly recommended to practice moderate intensity physical activity for at least 30 minutes 3 times a week. , to prevent cognitive disorders. This is particularly for people with important risk factors, such as hypertension, stroke or diabetes ”.
“Brain white matter damage is implicated in cognitive problems such as depression, walking difficulties and urinary disorders. White matter alterations are very common in elderly people and are especially associated with cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and stroke ”.
Ana Verdelho, lead author of the study and neuroscience researcher at the Santa Maria Hospital of the University of Lisbon, Portugal, added: “It is highly recommended to practice moderate intensity physical activity for at least 30 minutes 3 times a week. , to prevent cognitive disorders. This is particularly for people with important risk factors, such as hypertension, stroke or diabetes ”.
“Brain white matter damage is implicated in cognitive problems such as depression, walking difficulties and urinary disorders. White matter alterations are very common in elderly people and are especially associated with cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension and stroke ”.
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