A higher level of total daily physical activity is associated with a reduced risk of AD.

This is the conclusion reached by Buchman AS; Boyle PA; Yu L; Shah RC; Wilson RS; Bennett DA at Rush Alzheimer’s Disease Center, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA.

They studied the link between total daily physical activity and incidence of Alzheimer’s disease (AD).  They also tested the hypothesis that an objective measure of total daily physical activity predicts incident AD and cognitive decline.   The study covered 716 seniors for about 4 years.   The researchers found that the slow movers in the sample group who were in the bottom 10% of activity level had higher likelihood of developing AD as compared to the top 10% of exercisers.  

Their study suggests that exercise and activity matters and even daily chores like cleaning, gardening and cooking seemed to help.