“Including daily walks, healthy food, proper management
of metabolic and vascular risk factors, slows mental decline in older people,
says a new study. The Finnish Geriatric Intervention Study to Prevent Cognitive
Impairment and Disability, led by Professor Miia Kivipelto, assessed the effects
on brain function of a comprehensive intervention aimed at addressing some of
the most important risk factors for age-related dementia, such as high body-mass
index and heart health. The study involved 1260 people from across Finland
deemed to be at risk of dementia, aged 60-77 years, with half randomly allocated
to the intervention group, and half allocated to a control group, who received
regular health advice only. After two years, study participants' mental
function was scored using the Neuropsychological Test Battery (NTB), where a
higher score corresponds to better mental functioning. Overall test scores in
the intervention group were 25 percent higher than in the control group. For
some parts of the test, the difference between groups was even more striking-for
executive functioning were 83 percent higher in the intervention group, and
processing speed was 150 percent higher. Based on a pre-specified analysis, the
intervention appeared to have no effect on patients' memory. However, based on
post-hoc analyses, there was a difference in memory scores between the
intervention and control groups.”
-
Times of India, March 12, 2015
"Ye may trace my step o'er the wakening
earth,
By the winds which tell of the violet's birth,
By the primrose-stars in the shadowy grass,
By the green leaves opening as I pass."
- Felicia Hemans
"I can only meditate when I
am walking. When I stop, I cease to think; my mind works only with my legs."
- Jean Jacques Rousseau, Confessions
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