Aging Well

A recent Medscape article caught my eye and I thought you might be interested in what it had to say.  It was an article on dementia.

I’ll bet that got your attention. It did mine – and for good reason.

Before I tell you about the interesting news from Medscape, let me share with you some facts on dementia from Alz.org and WHO.

• Dementia is a syndrome caused by a variety of brain illnesses that is generally chronic and progressive.
• Alzheimer’s is one form of dementia that accounts for about 70% of people diagnosed with dementia (Krista Hills, Dementia).
• Dementia is NOT a normal part of aging.

Since Alzheimer’s represents the majority of dementia cases in the US, you might like to know a few bits of information about Alzheimer’s specifically.

• As of 2018, there are nearly 6 million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s.
• Alzheimer’s is the 6^th leading cause of death in the US – more than breast and prostate cancer combined.
• Over 16 million Americans provide unpaid health care for people with Alzheimer’s or other dementias, valued at over $232 billion dollars.
• In 2018 Alzheimer’s and other dementias will cost the US $277 billion dollars.
• 1 in 3 seniors dies with Alzheimer’s or other forms of dementia.
• Every 65 seconds someone in the US develops the disease.

With statistics like that, I think it’s safe to assume that this disease has impacted someone you know. And let’s face it, this is scary stuff!

Now for the Medscape article, I told you about.  The headline reads:

Physical Fitness Tied to a Nearly 90% Reduction in Dementia Risk

Now you know why it caught my eye!

Here’s the overview of the research reported by Medscape. A group of “middle-aged” women were tested for cardiorespiratory fitness. Based on the results of their test, their cardiorespiratory fitness levels were categorized as high, medium or low. Over the next 44 years, they were tested for signs of dementia six times.

You know what’s coming right?

RIGHT!

The women who were categorized in the high fitness level group who did develop dementia did so at an average of 11 years later than those in the medium level fitness group, 90 years of age versus 79.

AND when the author's calculated risk for developing dementia, the risk in the high fitness level group was 5% compared to 25% in the medium fitness category and 32% in the low fitness category.

That’s pretty cool, right?

I know what you’re thinking, how fit were those “highly fit” women?

With the information provided it’s hard for me to give you an absolutely precise comparison. But tinkering a little bit with workload and power output, we might consider the highly fit women as being able to run a 12-minute mile for 5 miles or walk at a sub-20 minute mile for 3 miles.

That doesn’t seem so tough, does it?

So what is the take away here?

• You can significantly slow the onset and progression of dementia by increasing cardiorespiratory fitness.
• Depending on other factors such as genetics, diet and stress management, you may prevent dementia altogether.
• You can start now.  It’s never too late to see improvement from where you are this minute.

What exercises address cardiorespiratory fitness?

The easy answer is those exercises that raise your heart rate for a reasonable period of time. How much you raise your heart rate and how much time, depends on your current level of fitness.  That said, here are some examples of exercises that address cardiorespiratory fitness.

• Walking, Jogging or Running
• Bicycling
• Swimming
• Rowing
• Cross Country Skiing
• Aerobic Dancing
• Zumba

You get the idea, right?

Exercise at a level that allows you to speak comfortably to your walking buddy or sing along to music, but still feels moderately or somewhat strong.

How often should you do this? 

If you are keeping the pace moderate, you should probably do this for at least 30 minutes a day and at least five days per week. Remember that if 30 minutes is too much for you right now, you can break that down to three 10-minute sessions or two 15-minute sessions – perfect for a lunchtime or after dinner walk – right?

The idea of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s is frightening. Until now, there was no hard evidence that we had the power to prevent or delay these diseases.

Now we do.

Remaining physically active has a multitude of health benefits. This is one more BIG ONE to add to the list.

Get fit. Stay fit. Keep your body and mind sound.

You can do this!

Until next time...

Be well my friends