Objectively linking dementia and physical inactivity

Charlyne Bürki explored the link between dementia and physical inactivity. ©Alain Herzog/EPFL STUDENT PROJECT - Charlyne Bürki explored the link between dementia and physical inactivity by comparing the results of subjective and objective studies. Her research uncovered some surprising findings - and led her to an indisputable conclusion. Would you say you live an active lifestyle? How many steps do you think you take each day? How long do you spend being physically active? How intense is this activity? See if you can answer these questions without looking at your phone or your smart watch! It's hard to put a number on physical activity, especially when we're asked to remember what we did several days, months or even years ago. Yet decades worth of research has relied on people's answers to self-assessment surveys asking precisely these kinds of questions. These studies have established a link between dementia and physical inactivity, which is estimated to account for some 3% of the overall risk of developing the disease. Physical inactivity is what's known as a modifiable risk factor because it's linked to our behavior.