How your weekend exercise routine could reduce your risk of dementia and cognitive decline

The research that links an active lifestyle with a longer and better-quality life is extensive but how many of us can really say we do enough exercise as we look forward to our golden years?

Fear not, because a recent study has found that those who only exercised on the weekends experienced a similar reduction in risk for mild dementia as those who exercised more frequently.

A team of academics from Latin America and Europe looked at the data of 10,033 participants in the Mexico City Prospective Study who were aged 35 years or older and studied their exercise patterns over an average of 16 years.

The team then published their findings in British Journal of Sports Medicine and said their findings suggest that even limited physical activity may offer protective cognitive benefits.

“To the best of our knowledge, this is the first prospective cohort study to show that the weekend warrior physical activity pattern and the regularly active physical activity pattern are associated with similar reductions in the risk of mild dementia,” they wrote.

“This study has important implications for policy and practice because the weekend warrior physical activity pattern may be a more convenient option for busy people around the world.”

Participants were separated into four groups, firstly those who did not exercise, weekend warriors (one or two sessions per week), those who were regularly active (three or more sessions per week), and a combined group.

Researchers then assessed each individual’s cognitive function with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), a set of 11 questions that doctors, and other health professionals use to check for cognitive impairment.

The team found that the risk for mild dementia was between 13 to 25 per cent lower in weekend exercisers, 11 to 12 per cent lower in the regular activity group, and 12 to 16 per cent lower in the two groups combined, compared to participants who did not exercise.

However, the team did acknowledge the limitations of the study and explained that the survey respondents may not have been truly representative of middle-aged adults and advised there were no objective measures of physical activity.

Despite these limitations, the findings support research from the University of South Australia (UniSA) that found that small, incremental increases in exercise and lifestyle change was more helpful to people at risk of dementia than excessive exercise regimes.

UniSA’s Small Steps program will support people aged 65 years and over to make small, gradual changes to their lifestyle, improve their sleep, increase their physical activity and reduce the time they sit at home.

“Maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle is essential to reduce the risk of dementia later in life, yet few older adults meet current activity guidelines, and even fewer continue them in the long term,” she said.

“In our research, we found that people need access to evidence-based information and individualised support to help them make healthier choices about dementia risk factors.”

The researchers found that participants were more likely to stick with the program if they were given evidence for why they needed to make these changes and provided with activities tailored to their needs.

Lead researcher, Ashleigh Smith, said the Small Steps program will help participants understand how swapping just one behaviour for another such as swapping out TV time for walking their dog, will benefit their health journey.