Aerobic Exercise May be the Best Medicine in Fighting Alzheimer's Disease
New research from the American Geriatrics Society has found that while all exercise benefits those fighting Alzheimer's Disease, aerobic exercise may be the best form.
Roughly 5.3 million Americans currently live with Alzheimer's Disease, affecting not just their own personal lives, but their family's as well. While this number may currently seem large now, the number is expected to triple by the year 2050. The World Health organization currently recommends that older adults complete 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week (75 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise), along with at least two days of muscle strengthening. While exercise brings many benefits, there is still no clear cut evidence that exercise slows mental decline or improves older adults ability to improve thinking or other mental capacities.
With no sure evidence that exercise can improve mental capacity in older adults, especially those who are at risk for Alzheimer's Disease or already have it, researchers looked at 19 studies that examined the effect of an exercise training program on the cognitive function of older adults. The studies viewed included 1,145 adults who were mostly in the mid to late 70's, and 65 percent of which were at risk of Alzheimer's Disease and 35 percent were diagnosed with it. Researchers found that those who completed only aerobic exercise experienced a three times greater level of improvement in cognitive function than those who completed aerobic and strength training exercise. Many older adults experienced small improvements in mental function, while those who completed no exercise experienced significant decline.
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