Physical inactivity
Physically active people have about 20 percent less dementia risk in pooled studies. Walking counts.
A standing panel of researchers reviews every study on a factor and weighs the evidence together. The 2024 Lancet Commission stands behind most of the numbers on this page.
Why it matters
Movement increases blood flow to the brain, reduces inflammation, and stimulates the growth of new neural connections.
What to ask at the checkup
Ask what level of physical activity is appropriate and whether a walking program would help
Screening: Self-reported weekly activity minutes
Sources
Dementia prevention, intervention, and care: 2024 report of the Lancet standing Commission
Livingston G, Huntley J, Liu KY et al.. The Lancet, 2024.
Fourteen things people can change account for nearly half of dementia cases at the population level.
Physical activity as a protective factor for dementia and Alzheimer's disease: systematic review and meta-analysis of prospective studies
Iso-Markku P, Kujala UM, Knittle K et al.. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2022.
People who moved regularly had about a fifth less dementia risk than those who did not.
A 2 year multidomain intervention of diet, exercise, cognitive training, and vascular risk monitoring versus control to prevent cognitive decline in at-risk elderly people (FINGER)
Ngandu T, Lehtisalo J, Solomon A et al.. The Lancet, 2015.
Combining diet, exercise, and brain training kept thinking skills sharper than standard advice alone.
Routines for this factor
Walk ten minutes after dinner
Put on shoes and walk for ten minutes after the evening meal.
10 min, difficulty 1/3
Stand up during every TV break
Stand and move for the length of each commercial break or between episodes.
2 min, difficulty 1/3
Five-minute morning stretch
After getting up, do five minutes of gentle stretching.
5 min, difficulty 1/3
Ten minutes in the garden or yard
Spend ten minutes doing something outside: weeding, watering, raking.
10 min, difficulty 1/3
This is research information, not medical advice. Nothing here replaces your parent's doctor.