Walking is a great form of cardiovascular exercise. It doesn't require any equipment and can be done anywhere, anytime. Walking can help strengthen your heart, but might also sharpen your mind. New research shows that walking could help slow the progression of Alzheimer's or even help prevent onset of the disease in healthy individuals. The study, presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America, analyzed weekly walking data from an ongoing 20-year study of over 400 adults between the ages of 78 and 81. 44 of the participants were diagnosed with Alzheimer's, and 83 were diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, which can eventually progress to the full-blown disease. The rest of the group was considered to be cognitively healthy. "After accounting for age, gender, body-fat composition, head size and education, the researchers determined that the more an individual engaged in physical activity, the larger his or her brain volume. Greater brain volume, they noted, is a sign of a lower degree of brain cell death as well as general brain health." Walking an average of 5 miles per week seemed to prevent further cognitive decline in individuals who are currently experiencing mild cognitive impairment. Walking 6 miles per week seemed to help protect the cognitive abilities of healthy adults. When participants completed cognitive tests, those who didn't walk experienced larger declines over a 5-year period than those did walk regularly. Walking appeared to protect the brain structure over 10 years in people with Alzheimer's or mild cognitive impairment. But researchers do caution against reading too much into the results. "In an observational study like this, undoubtedly people who are developing cognitive disease or are likely to be in the early stages are also likely to become less active," he noted. "So, it's not possible to be sure that they're observing a direct effect of walking on the disease, because diminished walking in the group that is progressing more rapidly could have been a direct result of the disease itself." Even if there's not a direct correlation, walking (and physical activity in general) have a host of other physical and mental benefits. This is just one more reason to stay active throughout your life. What do you think? |
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