Exercising only at weekends is just as effective at staving off dementia as regular workouts, according to a study.
Scientists have discovered ‘weekend warriors’ are as likely to lower their risk of ‘mild dementia’ as those who keep up a fitness regime throughout the week.
The findings come a month after another study showed one or two sessions of physical activity at the weekend cuts the risk of developing more than 200 diseases.
It bolsters a growing body of evidence that it is not when you exercise – but the fact you are doing it – that improves health.
The team, consisting of researchers from Colombia, Chile and Glasgow, examined two sets of survey data which included responses from more than 10,000 people.
For the first survey, participants were asked whether they exercised or played sports, and if so, how many times a week and for how long.
Four groups were derived from the responses – the no exercisers, the ‘weekend warriors’ who exercised or played sports once or twice a week, the regularly active who did so three or more times a week, and a combined group comprising weekend warriors and the regularly active.
A mental state exam was then used to assess their cognitive function for the second survey.
Analysis revealed that the risk of mild dementia was reduced by an average of 15 per cent in the ‘weekend warriors’ who exercised once or twice per week and by 10 per cent in the ‘regularly active’ who exercised more often.
Writing in the British Journal of Sports medicine the researchers said: ‘The weekend warrior physical activity pattern may be a more convenient option for busy people around the world.
‘This study is important because it suggests that even busy people can gain cognitive health benefits from taking part in one or two sessions of sport and exercise per week.’
After taking account of factors that might influence the results, such as age, smoking, sleep duration, diet and alcohol intake, the researchers suggested both exercise patterns had similar effects.
‘We found that the weekend warrior physical activity pattern and the regularly active physical activity pattern were associated with similar reductions in mild dementia risks after adjustment for confounders,’ they added.
‘We found that around 10 per cent of [mild dementia] cases would be eliminated if all middle-aged adults were to take part in sport or exercise once or twice per week or more often.
‘To the best of our knowledge, this is the first prospective cohort study to show that the weekend warrior physical activity pattern is associated with reduced risk of mild dementia.’
A second study in the same journal also found that exercise of any intensity is linked to a 30 per cent lower risk of death from any cause over four years following a diagnosis of dementia.
Those researchers said people affected should be encouraged to keep up or start an exercise routine, regardless of intensity – especially as average life expectancy after a diagnosis of dementia may be only about four to five years.
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