HEALTH UPDATE: variety of activities may lower dementia risk

A variety of activities like exercise, household chores and even dancing, can help people avoid Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia, US researchers said on Thursday (14 April). They found that variety was more important for preventing dementia than total calories burned in exercise and other physical activities. "We don't yet know why this association exists or what causes it," said Dr Constantine Lyketsos, a professor of psychiatry and behavioural sciences at Johns Hopkins University.
"It could well be that maintaining a variety of activities keeps more parts of the brain active, or that this variety reflects better engagement in both physical and social activities," he added in a statement.