Walking could protect brain against memory loss

“I have two doctors, my left leg and my right leg,” so wrote historian George Macaulay Trevelyan in the early 1900s. A report appears to show that the simple medicine of putting one foot in front of another is a potential defense against dementia and Alzheimer’s

A US study bears this out, with neurological tests on dementia-free people in Pittsburgh who agreed to log their walks and accept brain monitoring in 1995. Tests nine years later, followed by a further round in 2008, showed that those who walked the most cut their risk of developing memory problems by half.

The study suggests that nine miles a week is the optimum distance for “neurological exercise”.

The paper, published in Neurology, the online medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology, found no discernible bonus in going the extra mile after that.

“We also found that these people had a slower decline in memory loss over five years,” researcher Dr. Cyrus Raji said. “Because a cure for Alzheimer’s is not yet a reality, we hope to find ways of alleviating disease progression or symptoms in people who are already cognitively impaired.”

The recent development in the ongoing 20-year study was presented Monday at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America in Chicago.

Researchers analyzed 426 people, including 299 healthy seniors and 127 cognitively impaired adults — 83 with mild cognitive impairment and 44 with Alzheimer’s.

The participants’ physical activity was recorded and researchers found across the board, more physical activity is associated with greater brain volume.

No need to go this far, walking your neighborhood will do nicely

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