Brisk Walk Cuts Dementia Risk

While there is currently no way to prevent dementia, the best evidence shows that regular exercise such as a 20-minute brisk walk every day could help beat dementia. Regular exercise coupled with healthy eating, not smoking and keeping the blood pressure and cholesterol in check helps lower the risk, suggest health experts.

A 20-minute brisk walk every day as it not only boosts memory but also improves the walker's brain function, claims research at the Alzheimer's Research UK. The researchers examined people aged 60 to 88, out of which half had mild cognitive impairment on a programme of moderate exercise. The subjects were all asked to do their walking on a treadmill, guided by a personal trainer and it was found that respondents with cognitive impairment and those without improved their cardiovascular fitness by about 10 per cent.

Scans showed for the first time that the gentle workouts also improved brain function. All participants improved their memory performance and showed enhanced ability at memory retrieval tasks.

The study appeared in the latest issue of the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease.

Read more Health News.