Aug. 23 (UPI) — It isn’t the time that older adults spend sitting, but rather the type of sedentary activity that affects dementia risk, a new study says. Watching TV may increase the risk, but curling up on the couch with a laptop may reduce it.
Researchers said their National Institutes of Health-funded study also debunks the idea that if people are more physically active during the day, they are able to counter the negative effects of time spent sitting.
According to the study, by reducing time spent in “cognitively passive” sedentary behaviors, such as TV time, and increasing time spent in “cognitively active” sedentary behaviors, such as computer time, adults aged 60 and older may benefit brain health — even if they are very physically active.
The findings by researchers at the University of Southern California and University of Arizona were published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
www.upi.com/Health_News/2022/08/23/dementia-risk-sedentary-behaviors-study/5541661273837/