Healthy lifestyle cuts Alzheimer's risk

London, Apr 1 (ANI): A healthy lifestyle in middle age is key to staving off Alzheimer's disease and dementia, says a new study.

According to two senior doctors, keeping obesity, blood pressure and cholesterol under control as you age can cut the risk of developing Alzheimer's and dementia by 20 per cent, reports The Daily Express.

The study, by Dr Tom Russ and Professor John Starr, has appeared in the journal BMJ Clinical Evidence.

Their article stated: "Consistent with the finding that there are pathological changes well in advance of the appearance of symptoms of dementia, evidence is mounting that preventative efforts must be introduced sufficiently early in life to have an effect.

"Blood pressure, cholesterol and obesity need to be adequately controlled in midlife for dementia to be prevented. Exercise is to be recommended across all age groups."

Rebecca Wood, chief executive of the Alzheimer's Research Trust, said: "Diet and lifestyle almost certainly play a part in every person's Alzheimer's risk.

"These factors remain a magnet for research because they could offer relatively inexpensive ways to fight a disease that ruins countless lives.

"By taking regular exercise and eating a healthy diet, especially in mid-life, we may help reduce our risk of developing dementia as well as reaping numerous other benefits from living a healthy lifestyle." (ANI)