Risk of developing vascular dementia, the second most common dementia after Alzheimer's disease, can be lowered with moderate exercise, shows research on 749 individuals age 65 and older. Measuring the amount of energy these subjects exerted during activities such as walking and gardening, researchers found that individuals in the top third of energy exertion were 27 percent less likely to develop vascular dementia than those in the bottom third. Researchers speculate that this is because exercise may help improve cerebral blood flow.
ABSTRACT: Physical activity and dementia risk in the elderly. Findings from a prospective Italian study