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TORONTO, July 31, 2025 — People with a higher genetic risk for Alzheimer’s disease may benefit the most from healthy lifestyle interventions like walking, according to a decade of data from three large international studies. Older adults who carry the Alzheimer’s risk gene known as APOE4 had higher cognitive benefits from non-drug interventions like exercise, diet and cognitive training than non-carriers.
In this study, walking was found to be the most effective healthy habit for slowing down cognitive damage. Like many healthy lifestyle changes, the key was making it a habit, as the study showed that sticking with it for at least two years produced cognitive benefits up to seven years later.
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Dementia Researcher
Very interesting research on how lifestyle changes may help reduce cognitive decline, especially for people with higher genetic risk of Alzheimer’s. Small daily habits can have a long-term impact on overall health.