A study carried out in Madrid revealed that people with physical inactivity and a sedentary lifestyle could have a higher risk of suffering from dementia.
physical inactivity and sedentary behavior is one of the main risk factors for dementia, to the point of increasing the risk by up to 30 per centas assured by the Doctors Carmen Lumpcoordinator of the Cognitive Impairment and Dementia Unit of Hospital Nuestra Señora del Rosario, and Maria S. Manzano Palomoneurologist at the Infanta Leonor Hospital in Madrid.
Experts have pointed out that the twelve factors of risk currently established modifiable dementia measures would be responsible for 40 percent of dementia cases or, to put it another way, “if a prevention of dementia could prevent or delay a 40 percent of the cases”.
“This makes physical activity a protective factor against the development of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, as well as against cerebrovascular pathology, in addition to having a positive effect on health and quality of life,” the neurologists have assured.
In addition, they add that sedentary lifestyle favors the development of other factors risk of dementia, such as obesity and altered lipid and glycemic metabolism, not to mention its relationship with a decrease of cognitive function throughout life and a greater risk dementia of any aetiology.
Thus, doctors Terrón and Manzano advise avoid physical inactivity as much as possible, so limit sedentary time to less than two hours a day; get up and move after 30 minutes of uninterrupted sitting; increase Daily time for light physical activity to two hours each day.
“The prevention of dementia is a real possibility and a duty for the medical community. And more so considering that, at the same time, this disease generates great social concern, but there is great ignorance about many of its fundamental aspects”, they have assured.
In short, neurologists are in favor of starting strategies prevention of dementia in a multimodal way, with fundamental changes in the life habits.
“In this way we will be able to improve its effectiveness and try to achieve the goal of increasing healthy life expectancy and reducing the years lived with disability (11 years on average in high-income countries), bearing in mind that dementia is one of the leading causes of disability in the elderly. In particular, it is urgent to implement global health promotion and social action plans aimed at the most vulnerable population”, they concluded.