7 Healthy Habits That Help Prevent Dementia

Adopting seven healthy lifestyle choices can reduce the risk of dementia, a study finds. The recommendations work even for those with the highest genetic risk, experts say.

Experts identified seven factors: being active, eating well, losing weight, quitting smoking, maintaining healthy blood pressure, controlling cholesterol and lowering blood sugar. Researchers followed more than 11,000 people for 10 years to assess how their lifestyles affected their dementia rates.

The therapist commented on the research as follows:

“These healthy habits are associated with a lower risk of developing dementia in general. The good news is that even for people with the highest genetic risk who have a similarly healthier lifestyle, their risk of developing dementia is likely to be lower,” the doctor said.

It is thought that up to 40 percent of cases can be prevented by adopting a healthier lifestyle. 8,823 people of European descent and 2,738 people of African descent were included in the study.

Their lifestyle was rated on a scale of 0 to 14, with higher numbers indicating better health across the seven habits. The average score was 8.3 for people of European descent and 6.6 for people of African descent.

The risk of mental retardation decreased by nine percent for each point increase in life score.