Physical Activity for Older Adults at Risk for Alzheimer Disease
- Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH
- Author Affiliation: Group Health Center for Health Studies, Seattle, Washington.
Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text.
- KEYWORDS:
- AGING
- ALZHEIMER DISEASE
- COGNITION DISORDERS
- DEMENTIA
- DISEASE PROGRESSION
- EXERCISE
- MEMORY DISORDERS
- MOTOR ACTIVITY
- TIME FACTORS
In the last 35 years, there has been increased appreciation for the health value of habitual exercise and increased attention to the importance of improved physical fitness throughout the lifespan. Exercise appears beneficial for older adults particularly for maintaining function with aging and reducing risk and improving outcomes for common age-related chronic diseases.1 Past controversies over exercise and heart disease (especially risk of sudden cardiac death) have given way to a general consensus that exercise is an important lifestyle intervention.2
Physicians and public health experts have been prescribing exercise like a medication, given that its benefits have been amply demonstrated in cohort studies and randomized clinical trials.3,4,5,6,7 The effects of exercise on health are perhaps best documented and greatest in primary and secondary prevention of all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality and diabetes. Effect sizes can be quite dramatic. One …
