Dementia: Optimal step count may slash your risk by 62% says study
Steve Thompson recalls signs of his early-onset dementia
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There is ample evidence supporting the benefits of physical activity for dementia prevention, but researchers believe that targets for dementia prevention could be further improved by aiming to meet a specific step count each day. Now new scientific findings have suggested that the intensity of stepping may matter more than the volume of exercise. Walking at a brisk pace may reduce the risk of dementia by as much as 62 percent, according to a new study.
A new body of research published in JAMA Neurology suggests you should aim for between 3,800 and 9,800 steps per day to reduce your risk of mental decline.
The findings showed that people aged between 40 and 79 who took 9,826 steps per day were 50 percent less likely to develop dementia within seven years.
What’s more, those who walked with “purpose”, which was described at a pace of over 40 steps a minute, were able to cut their risk of dementia by 57 percent with just 6,315 steps a day.
The most significant reduction in risk was observed in people who walked at a brisk pace of 11 steps per minute for 30 minutes a day, at 62 percent.
The researchers noted: “Our findings suggest that approximately 9800 steps per day may be optimal to lower the risk of dementia.
“We estimated the minimum dose at approximately 3800 steps per day, which was associated with a 25 percent lower incident dementia.
“Other studies have found 4400 steps to be associated with mortality outcomes. […] Our analyses highlight the importance of stepping intensity for preventing dementia.
The study drew from data from more than 78,000 people aged between 40 and 79 who wore wrist accelerometers.
Once each person’s total number of steps was counted, participants were placed into two categories.
The first walked at a mild pace of fewer than 40 steps per minute, while the second group walked more than 40 steps per minute.
The study’s co-author, Borka del Pozo Crus, adjunct associate professor at the University of Southern Denmark in Odense, Denmark, and senior researcher in health science for the University of Cadiz in Spain, expressed hope that the findings would motivate sedentary adults.
Alzheimer’s researchers Ozioma Okonkwo and Elizabeth Planalp commented: “While 112 steps per minute is a rather brisk cadence, 112 is conceivably a much more tractable and less intimidating number for most individuals than 10,000, especially if they have been physically inactive or under-active.”
They said that although the study failed to prove that the relationship between step count and dementia risk was causal, there is mounting evidence that physical activity is important for reducing dementia risk.
Previous research has shown that during exercise, blood flow to the brain is increased, which in turn boosts the production of chemicals that protect the brain.
What’s more, physical activity can counter some of the natural reduction in brain connections that occurs with ageing, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Exercise specifically targets mainly the prefrontal cortex in the brain, critical for decision-making, and your personality.
The hippocampus is the part of the brain involved in learning and verbal memory. Sweat-inducing workouts produce new brain cells in the hippocampus, that increase its volume, as well as improve long-term memory.
These two areas are most susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases and normal cognitive decline in ageing.
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