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NBC’s Helen Chickering ReportingNew research may help motivate you to stick to your New Years exercise resolution. Results of a new study brings some of most convincing evidence yet that regular exercise does more than trim the waistline.
Every Friday morning, you'll find May Segal immersed in aqua aerobics. She may be 92, but in the water…
May Segal: "In the pool with the other people I feel like I'm a little girl!"
And new research out of Seattle suggests May's water workouts may do more than just make her feel young. A six year study of more than 1700 seniors over 65 finds those who exercised three times a week were up to forty percent less likely to develop alzheimer's than their less active peers.
Harvey Cohen, MD, Director Duke Center for Aging: "This work builds on a growing history of work that has led us to believe that exercise has many, many positive effects.”
And this latest research suggests it may never be too late to start. Seniors who were the frailest at the beginning of the study reaped the biggest brain boost.
Duke University aging researcher Dr. Harvey Cohen says exercise triggers a number of healthy effects, like increasing blood flow.
Dr. Cohen: "Exercise and physical activity have effects on lowering inflammation and that can actually allow people to function better as they age physically."
You don't have to convince May Segal.
May Segal: “I’m 92 and half the time I don’t feel that.”
More research is needed to better understand how exercise may help protect against diseases like Alzheimer's, but for now researchers say one thing is clear, retirement is no excuse for an idle brain. Researchers say it doesn't take a lot of exercise to reap the brain benefit; a minimum of fifteen minutes three times a week is enough.
The study is reported in the Annals of Internal Medicine.
