Diet and Exercise Reduce Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease
As reported by the New York Times, this recent study indicates the effect of diet and exercise on the risk of Alzheimer’s disease are independent and additive.
Elderly people who are physically active appear to be at lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease, as are those who eat a heart-healthy Mediterranean style diet, rich in fruits and vegetables and low in red meat. Now, a new study has found that the effects of the two lifestyle behaviors are independent — and the benefits add up.
The Columbia University study followed a diverse group of 1,880 septuagenarian New Yorkers, assessing their diets and levels of physical activity, and screening them periodically for Alzheimer’s disease. After an average of five years, 282 cases of Alzheimer’s were diagnosed.
Those who followed the healthiest diets were 40 percent less likely to develop Alzheimer’s than those with the worst diets, and those who got the most exercise were 37 percent less likely to develop the disease than those who got none. But the greatest benefits occurred in those who both ate healthy and remained active. Participants who scored in the top one-third for both diet and exercise were 59 percent less likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s than those who scored in the lowest one-third.
While one in 5 participants with the lowest scores developed Alzheimer’s, fewer than one in 10 of the top scorers developed the disease.
With all the attention on diet and exercise for weight loss, it’s easy to forget that they’re also associated with a whole host of health benefits, that have nada to do with having a “beach body”. There are excellent reasons to develop healthy habits, even if you never shed a pound…and this looks like one of ’em.
