More evidence comes to light everyday that exercise is perhaps the best medicine for the treatment and prevention of nearly every medical condition on the planet. The trend continues with the impact of exercise on Alzheimer’s disease. An article in The Globe and Mail by prominent sports science writer, Alex Hutchinson summarized recent findings from the National Runners’ and Walkers’ Health Studies that found an incredible decrease in the risk of developing Alzheimer’s with regular exercise.
Alzheimer’s disease, the most common cause of dementia, is a chronic and progressive neurological condition for which there is no known cure and very little is known about its cause. Considering the fact that there are few treatment options, prevention is ever more important.
So how important is exercise, you ask? Very!
The study followed more than 150,000 participants over a 17 year period and found that regular exercise decreases your likelihood of dying from Alzheimer’s by up to 40%!
How much do I need to exercise? Simply put, more is better.
Those who exercised an equivalent of running about 25 kilometres per week showed the greatest reduction—about 40%—in death rate. The study also found that walking was just as good as running, as long as you spent about twice as much time walking. Review of other studies has shown that 1 in 7 cases of Alzheimer’s could be prevented by following minimum exercise guidelines of 150 minutes per week.
So what’s the take home message? Get off the couch and start moving today; it may save your life!
Have any concerns about getting started or in need of a little guidance? Give us a call, we can help!
Adam and Matt