A new Swedish study confirms the beneficial effect of physical activity on the brain. According to the researchers, 6 hours of physical activity would be enough to protect against Parkinson’s disease.
We have been harping on our ears for years telling us that a sedentary lifestyle is bad for your health. Swedish researchers are now providing further proof of the need to be active. Indeed, according to their research published in The Journal Of Neurology, 6 hours of sport per week would be effective in protecting the brain from Parkinson’s disease.
Risks reduced by 43%
A team of researchers from the Karolinska Institute (Stockholm) followed more than 43,000 Swedes for 12 years. During this period, the researchers assessed all of the participants’ activities, from work and household chores to hobbies and different sports. With 286 cases of Parkinson’s identified during the study, they found that people active at least 6 hours per week reduced their risk of developing Parkinson’s disease by 43%. “These results are important for the general population as well as for the health of people with Parkinson’s,” said Karin Wirdefeldt, the lead author of the study, who specifies that this work confirms the conclusions of previous studies carried out on the subject. .
150,000 French people with the disease
Parkinson’s disease is a degenerative disease characterized by the gradual disappearance of nerve cells located in the brain. These cells are involved in controlling the precision and smoothness of movement by secreting a substance called dopamine. When more than 50% of these cells have disappeared, the characteristic symptoms of Parkinson’s disease appear. Parkinson’s disease evolves in a very variable way according to the patients. This development is independent of the age at which the disease appeared. The precise causes of Parkinson’s disease are still poorly understood. Currently, specialists lean for a multifactorial origin. Most of the time, the pathology affects people over 55 years of age. However, it also sometimes affects younger people. According to the France Parkinson Association, more than 150,000 inhabitants of France suffer from this disease.
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