9.22.2004
Walk to Protect Your Memory
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Walking - the most natural and oldest exercise on Earth, has been found to avert dementia in a study conducted in Hawaii. Why is this? Many scientists believe the tendency of walking to improve circulation throughout the body and also the transport of oxygen to critical areas such as the cells of the brain promote longevity and may also assist in clearing away the accumulation of harmful compunds.
Combining exercise, a healty diet, and regular monitoring should give you maximum protection.
Take a walk. It may help protect your brain as well as your heart.
Two large studies, one focusing on women and the other on men, found that elderly people who walk are more likely to maintain cognitive function.
And the more they walk, the better, according to the studies in today's Journal of the American Medical Association.
The study of women looked at more than 16,000 participants, ages 70 to 81, in the Nurses' Health Study. It found those who regularly reported engaging in physical activity, even walking a mere 1 1/2 hours a week, had a higher level of cognitive function and less cognitive decline after 10 years.
The study of 2,257 Japanese-American men in Hawaii found that those who walked less than a quarter of a mile per day were nearly twice as likely to develop dementia and Alzheimer's disease, compared with men who walked more than two miles a day.
The men were 71 to 93 years old. Wire story from The Arizona Republic
