Originally published February 21 2006
Seattle researcher finds exercise can protect seniors against dementia
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
USA Today reports on a study authored by Eric Larson, a researcher at the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, who found that moderate exercise performed three times a week can reduce the risk of developing dementia for elderly patients.
Older men and women who exercised even modestly three times a week or more reduced their risk of developing dementia, including Alzheimer's, a study reports Tuesday.
Members of the Community Alzheimer's Respite & Enrichment Club perform stretching exercises.
The study adds to a growing body of scientific research that suggests exercise is as good for the brain as it is for the body, says Eric Larson, the study's lead researcher.
The findings also hold out the hope that daily exercise might delay the onset of Alzheimer's and thus reduce the number of people with the disease, he says.
Larson, a researcher at the Group Health Cooperative in Seattle, recruited more than 1,700 men and women who were 65 or older at the time of the study.
EASY PACE PAYS OFF In a Harvard study reported in 2004, women who walked at an easy pace (21 to 30 minutes a mile) for two to three hours a week did better on cognitive tests than inactive women.
To get the same brain benefits: Walk one to two hours each week at a faster pace (about 15 minutes a mile).
Bike, swim laps or play tennis for one hour to 1 hours each week.
Jog for 30 minutes to one hour each week at a rate of 10 minutes a mile.
The research team asked participants about their exercise patterns and gave them frequent tests designed to detect early signs of memory loss and dementia.
"We don't know if exercise makes the disease go away," Larson says, and the study doesn't provide direct proof that exercise will ward off dementia.
People shouldn't wait for those studies before they start an exercise program, says Dallas Anderson of the National Institute on Aging.
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