On 6 September, a team of researchers from Australia and Denmark reported that middle-aged and older people who took just under 10.000 steps per day were half as likely to develop dementia within 7 years as were their sedentary peers. Findings were published in the journal JAMA Neurology. Researchers looked at data from the UK BioBank. A total of 78.430 people aged 40 to 79 years were included (44.7% were male and 55.3% female). All participants were free of cardiovascular disease and dementia when they enrolled in the study. Participants had to wear an accelerometer to monitor physical daily activity. The aim of the study was to examine the dose-response association between daily step count and intensity and incidence of all-cause dementia among adults in the UK. After a seven-year follow-up period, results showed that a higher number of steps per day was associated with a lower risk of dementia, with optimal walking of 9,826 steps reducing the risk by half. For less active individuals, the study reported that as low as 3,800 steps a day can cut the risk of dementia by 25%. The researchers noted that the study is observational and that the age range of participants may have resulted in limited dementia cases. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamaneurology/fullarticle/2795819