New research shows exercise helps delay onset of dementia

Older people who &to=http://english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/379/16146_muscle.html' target=_blank>exercise three or more times a week are less likely to develop Alzheimer's and other types of dementia, according to a study that adds to the evidence that staying active can help keep the mind sharp.

Researchers found that healthy people who reported exercising regularly had a 30 to 40 percent lower risk of dementia.

The study, published Tuesday in the Annals of Internal Medicine, reached no conclusions about whether certain types of exercise helped more than others, but researchers said even light activity, such as walking, seemed to help.

"It seems like we are delaying onset," said Dr. Wayne McCormick, a University of Washington geriatrician who was one of the study's authors. "The surprising finding for us was that it actually didn't take much to have this effect."