10,000 steps a day may halve dementia risk

Walking 10,000 steps a day could halve your risk of developing dementia in later life, new research suggests.

 

According to the study, the results of which are published in the journal JAMA Neurology, walking around 9,800 steps per day was associated with a 50% dementia risk reduction. However, there is also good news for people who are unable to achieve this many steps. That’s because walking just 3,826 steps a day reduced dementia risk by 25%.

 

The study used almost 80,000 individuals’ data from the UK Biobank, of whom 44.7% were male and 55.3% female and had a mean age of 61.1 years. At the start of the study, all participants were free of cardiovascular disease and dementia. The researchers followed up with everyone involved after a median of 6.9 years (6.4–7.5 years).

 

Dr. Claire Sexton, Alzheimer’s Association senior director of scientific programs and outreach, who was not involved in the study, said: “This is an important study that may help inform public health guidelines around the amount of physical activity necessary to reap health benefits.

 

“These results are not surprising given the robust data we have linking physical activity and better cognition. A strength of this paper is it used an objective, widely-understood measure of step count rather than self-reported data.”

 

*Image by Mabel Amber, who will one day from Pixabay