People in their 50s who practice both sports and social activities, such as tennis and golf, have a significantly lower risk of developing dementia. This was revealed by a Japanese study.
- Golf and tennis are sporting activities that have a similar effect on dementia as chores such as cleaning and cooking.
- It is recommended that adults ages 18 to 64 devote at least 150 to 300 minutes per week to moderate-intensity activity or engage in at least 75 to 150 minutes of vigorous-intensity endurance activity.
Not everyone is lucky enough to be able to play tennis or golf. But according to a team of Japanese researchers, these sports help keep the minds of adults in their fifties healthy. To reach this conclusion, they performed a study published in the journal JAMA Network Open March 29.
“The associations between daily total physical activity and moderate-to-vigorous total physical activity and dementia are still unclear,” they wrote in the works which relate to 43,896 people, aged 50 to 79, followed for about 10 years.
For the purposes of this research, the scientists used data from dementia questionnaires collected between 2000 and 2003 in eight regions of Japan. The study authors compared cases of dementia requiring long-term care with levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Data analysis was conducted from February 1, 2019 to July 31, 2021.
Higher level of leisure-time exercise associated with prevention of disabling dementia
Of the 43,896 participants, 5,010 adults were diagnosed with disabling dementia over an average period of 9.5 years. In the highest total daily physical activity group, the risk of dementia was lower in both men and women. Similar associations were observed in men and women for moderate-to-vigorous total leisure-time physical activity.
According to the results, volunteers who practice more exercise during their leisure time, such as golf and tennis, have a 25% lower risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. “Leisure time that includes cognitive activity has a protective association against cognitive decline and dementia,” said Norie Sawada of the Tokyo National Cancer Center and author of the work, in a statement.
“A randomized clinical trial has shown that combined cognitive and physical training can improve cognitive functions in older adults. In addition, the social activities that accompany these hobbies, such as participating in golf competitions and entering tournaments tennis, also exhibits a protective association against cognitive decline and dementia,” have developed the researchers.
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