May 10th, 2011
Overweight people who are middle aged, yet not obese, are more likely to develop dementia than those with a normal weight, a report says.
The Swedish research, published in the Journal of Neurology, states that overweight people are 71% more likely to get dementia. There has always been a correlation between obesity and dementia and this study firmly indicates that maintaining a healthy weight is important to keep a healthy mind.
- 1 in 20 people over the age of 65 has dementia
- those with a BMI of over 30 are classed as obese
- BMI of 25-30 means clinically overweight
- Those with a BMI of 25-30 are 71% more likely to develop dementia
Whereas the risks as not as substantial as those for obese people, those who are overweight must take heed says Dr Weili Xu from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. This means 1.6 billion adults worldwide.
The lessons learned from the study are to eat healthily, to exercise regularly and manage your stress to lessen your likelihood of gaining weight and of developing dementia.
Dementia is a condition that means a decline in brain functions including memory, language, general thinking and understanding and judgement and reasoning. In the UK there are over 570,000 people living with dementia and this number is anticipated to double within the next 30 years.
Tags: dementia
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May 3rd, 2011
Stroke patients treated for a heartbeat disorder may stop dementia developing in these patients.
The heartbeat problem, called atrial fibrillation, is a condition that could develop after a stroke. Nearly 500,000 people in the UK are affected by this. Whilst this is not life threatening to stroke patients, those with this problem are twice as likely to get dementia.
A study in the Neurology Journal has identified that treating this condition with drugs might delay or even help prevent dementia from occurring. They found that stroke patients with atrial fibrillation were 2.4 times more likely to develop dementia than those without AF.
Currently, drugs to thin the blood and slow the irregular heartbeat are prescribed to treat AF patients and reduce the risk of a stroke. It is suggested that better, more aggressive treatment will have the additional benefit of reducing dementia, too.
Tags: dementia
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April 15th, 2011
In a BBC interview with Anne McCann the manager of the Redholme Memory Clinic, a care home in Liverpool that deals with Dementia patients, explains how exercise and use of the gym aids dementia patients in terms of wellbeing. Transcript of the interview:
For these guys here, what are the main benefits this exercise equipment brings to them?
Well, obviously, they are not sitting in chairs doing nothing, sleeping. We give them activities at all different levels. These gentlemen actually come to the gym regularly. We found that when they go back to their units, their appetite is improved, they are more compliant with medication, they are sleeping better and they interact with each other far better. There is like a male cameraderie going on.
And what sort of effect has it had on their physical strength?
Some of the gentlemen have been very mobile when they came in to the home. Obviously we want to keep that going. We try to encourage that by doing the gym and also with Tai Chi which goes on once a week on a Tuesday. We have had very few fractured neck of femur which is a problem with elderly people and especially people with dementia. In the home in general, the activities, the gym in particular goes down really well.
And do you think there is an aspect of mental wellbeing involved?
They can’t actually express how well they feel but we know from the smiles on their faces. If they didnt want to come to the gym or they didn’t feel well doing the gym, they wouldn’t come.
In the couple of years you had it, has it made a big difference do you think?
I think so, for the wellbeing of all the gentlemen and the ladies aswell and especially the daycare service users because they may not go out at all other than coming to our service so they can get all the activities that we can possibly give – Tai Chi, drama therapy and the gym.
Tags: dementia, Dementia Patients, Exercise Dementia, freedom healthnet, freedomhealthnet
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August 1st, 2010
A recent study shows that people who stay in education for longer demonstrate a reduced risk of developing Dementia, according to Cambridge University.
Education helps people able to cope with changes in the brain much better says the study and the more learning individuals undertake, over a longer period, the less likely they are to develop early dementia.
The partially Bupa-funded study comments on this research and indicates that including ‘purposeful activity and …intellectually demanding activity’ in a health programme could aid in staving off the effects of dementia and the health provider looks at whether keeping the brain active into middle age and beyond can also help to reduce the degeneration.
Tags: dementia
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