Lack of Exercise in Older Adults Contributes to Dementia

Exercise, even moderate levels, has long been proven to have extensive health benefits. In the modern era children, adolescents, and adults spend more time than ever sitting which is a major contributor to negative health outcomes. Indeed, sitting is considered by many to be as detrimental to ones health as smoking.

New evidence presented in the prestigious journal, JAMA, finds that a sedentary life style, such as sitting too much, increases the risk for dementia in older adult:

Sedentary Behavior and Incident Dementia Among Older Adults

Previous studies have shown that the amount of time spent physically active is associated with a lower risk of dementia.

Participants in this study numbered 49,841 and were adults of 60 years of age or older without a diagnosis of dementia. Measurement of exercise level was determined by the use of a wrist worn accelerometer.

Inpatient hospital records and death registry data were used to determine the incident of all-cause dementia diagnoses in the study participants.

The outcomes from this study found a nonlinear relationship between mean daily sedentary behavior time and incidence of dementia. The risk of dementia was found to increase in participants who had approximately 10 hours per day of sedentary behavior. Mean daily sedentary behavior time was found to be significantly associated with an incidence of dementia when adjusting for mean and maximum bouts of sedentary behavior.

TAKE HOME: Make every effort to attempt some form of exercise every day to stay healthy as the financial benefits can be monumental as will be the physical and mental rewards.