The road to reducing dementia

This briefing paper from Deeble Institute scholar, Kimberly Ashby-Mitchell, examines the evidence surrounding dementia onset and the role of diet and physical activity in brain health.

The road to reducing dementia onset and prevalence: are diet and physical activity interventions worth investing in? discusses the fact that dementia is now the second leading cause of death in Australia, with over a quarter of a million sufferers at present.  Research shows that high ratios of saturated fats and excessive caloric intake have been found to be associated with impaired cognitive function, while increased intakes of fish,vegetables and legumes have been reported to have a protective brain effect.

Increased levels of physical activity have been found to promote neuroprotective changes in the hippocampus of the brain – a region central to learning and memory, and one of the first areas affected by dementia.