(04-11-10) Research shows that walking can protect your memory down the road

by S. L. Baker, features writer

(NaturalNews) One of the greatest fears associated with growing older is the
thought of memory problems -- including the mind-robbing nightmare of
Alzheimer's Disease. But there appears to be a natural way to help protect
yourself from dementia that involves nothing more complicated that putting on
your walking shoes and sticking to a walking program. New research just
published in the October 13, 2010, online issue of Neurology, the medical
journal of the American Academy of Neurology, strongly indicates that walking
just six miles per week may protect aging brains from growing smaller and, in
turn, preserve memory in old age.

"Brain size shrinks in late adulthood, which can cause memory problems. Our
results should encourage well-designed trials of physical exercise in older
adults as a promising approach for preventing dementia and Alzheimer's
disease," study author Kirk I. Erickson, PhD, of the University of Pittsburgh
in Pittsburgh, said in a statement to the media.

For the study, the research team had 299 dementia-free volunteers record the
number of blocks they walked each week. After nine years passed, the scientists
measured the research participants' brain size with brain scans. Then, four
years later, the participants were tested to see if they had developed
cognitive deficits or other signs of dementia.

The results? At the nine year checkpoint, those people who walked at least 72
blocks per week (about the equivalent of six to nine miles) had greater gray
matter volume than the study participants who didn't walk as much. Walking more
than 72 blocks did not seem to increase the volume of gray matter any further.
When examined again four years later, 116 of the participants, or 40 percent,
had developed some cognitive impairment or dementia. But the researchers
discovered those research subjects who walked the most had cut their risk of
developing memory problems by 50 percent.

"If regular exercise in midlife could improve brain health and improve
thinking and memory in later life, it would be one more reason to make regular
exercise in people of all ages a public health imperative," Dr. Erickson
stated.

As NaturalNews previously reported, this isn't the first time simply going for
regular walks for exercise has been associated with a dramatic decrease in the
risk of serious disease. Last spring, a Harvard study found that women who
walked regularly at a brisk pace had a 37 percent lower risk of any type of
stroke. What's more, going for regular brisk walks cut the women's risk of a
hemorrhagic, or bleeding stroke, by an amazing 68 percent (http://www.
naturalnews.com/028656_s...).

For more information:
http://www.neurology.org/
http://www.naturalnews.com/028423_w...

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