Health News Reuters.com
Mon Jan 16, 2006. CHICAGO (Reuters) - Routine exercise, even as simple as a 15-minute walk three times a week, can help ward off dementia and related conditions among those 65 and older, according to a study published on Monday.
Exercise may help by improving brain function since it boosts blood flow to areas of the brain used for memory, according to the chief author of the study, Eric Larson, director of the Group Health Cooperative Center for Health Studies in Seattle.
"Earlier research has shown that poor blood flow can damage these parts of the brain. So one theory is that exercise may prevent damage and might even help repair these areas by increasing blood flow," he said.
His study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was described as the most definitive investigation to date on exercise and dementia.
"Even those elderly people who did modest amounts of gentle exercise, such as walking for 15 minutes three times a week, appeared to benefit," Larson said. "Based on these findings, we can advise older people to 'use it even after you start to lose it,' because exercise may slow the progression of age-related problems in thinking."
The six-year study involved 1,740 people age 65 and older. It found that those who exercised three or more times a week had up to a 40 percent lower risk for developing dementia compared with those who exercised fewer than three times per week.
"As our population ages, strategies are needed to reduce the risks and delay the onset of dementing disorders such as Alzheimer's disease," Larson said. "These findings indicate that programs that encourage elderly people to exercise should be part of those strategies."
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