According to the National Institute of Aging, dementia is the loss of cognitive functioning — thinking, remembering, and reasoning — to such an extent that it interferes with a person’s daily life and activities.
Some people with dementia cannot control their emotions, and their personalities may change.
Dementia ranges in severity from the mildest stage, when it is just beginning to affect a person’s functioning, to the most severe stage, when the person must depend completely on others for basic activities of living.
In a study from University of Southern Denmark, scientists found that taking 10,000 steps each day can help cut the risk of dementia by half.
A previous study has found that moderate exercise may reduce the risk of dementia by a third.
In the study, the team examined the steps of 78,430 adults between the ages of 40 and 79 over seven years.
The researchers showed that 9,800 steps a day could reduce the risk of dementia by half, but there was no more reduction of risk if participants went over that number.
The team also found that walking fewer steps daily, such as taking 3,800 steps, could reduce the risk by 25%.
They say that walking is associated with better vascular profiles, which is probably the clearest pathway through which steps may benefit dementia.
In addition, vascular dementia may be the most preventable through physical activity.
Vascular dementia, the second most common type of dementia after Alzheimer’s, affects memory, concentration, and thought processes.
Researchers say that since aerobic exercises such as walking increase blood flow to the brain and can improve memory function, it’s no surprise that 10,000 steps a day can potentially reduce the risk of dementia.
This study also proves that walking may be the best way to reduce your risk.
Walking at least 10,000 steps a day has other benefits, too, such as reducing other conditions such as heart disease and high blood pressure.
The team says their findings have an important contribution to step count–based recommendations for dementia prevention.
If you care about dementia, please read studies about a new way to predict dementia before symptoms appear, and eating blueberry regularly may reduce your dementia risk.
For more information about dementia, please see recent studies about antioxidants that could help reduce dementia risk, and Vitamin D deficiency linked to higher dementia risk.
The study was conducted by Borja del Pozo Cruz et al and published in the journal JAMA Neurology.
Copyright © 2022 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
