"Treat the disease, you win some, you lose some. Treat the patient, you always win."
~Patch Adams~



Sunday, February 10, 2013

Fitness in 40s, 50s Tied to Later Dementia Risk

If you need another reason to exercise in your mid life years, here's a good one.  According to MedPageToday.com, an observational study shows that in a study of nearly 20,000 participants, the group that scored in the top one fifth in scores of cardiorespiratory fitness at about 50 years of age had a 36% less likelyhood of developing dementia in later life.  That's enough to keep me in the gym!  I also have a history of heart disease in my family; my father died of congestive heart failure at the age of 59.

What do you like to do as far as exercise for cardio fitness?  I like to fitness walk (I'm slowly building my distance back up after a bout with Achilles tendonosis), and I also do water aerobics a few days a week.  I know a lot of people enjoy the elliptical machine, but for some reason, that sets off really nasty neuropathic pain my right leg if I do it for more than a few minutes.

I'm thinking of all you in the Northeast right now, I know the blizzard has really affected a lot of people.  I understand 650,000 people are (or at least were yesterday) without power, and that can be life threatening.  If it helps, the first day of spring is in 37 days (although I lived up north long enough to know that doesn't always mean much!)  Whatever you do, however you spend the rest of the weekend, I hope you are able to stay safe and warm.