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Exercise can help prevent Alzheimer's: Study

Written by: QMI Agency
Mar. 8, 2013

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Regular exercise can help prevent and manage Alzheimer's disease, a new study says.

The study, published by the Ontario Brain Institute, reviewed 871 research articles and selected 24 trials and 21 studies that looked at the effects regular physical activity has on Alzheimer's disease.

The study says older adults who exercised regularly were 40% less likely to develop Alzheimer's and one in seven cases could be prevented if everyone who is currently inactive started exercising.

Health can be improved with as little as 15 minutes of walking each day, the study says. "Higher levels of physical activity are also associated with prolonged survival in Alzheimer's disease and cardiorespiratory fitness has been shown to lower the risk of dementia-related deaths," the study says.

In 2011, there were roughly 747,000 Canadians over 65 living with dementia and an estimated 60-70% of them had Alzheimer's.

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