Keeping fit helps the mind

A healthy body helps keep a healthy mind, new research suggests.

We already know that living a healthy lifestyle helps to lower the risk of heart disease and stroke, but studies conducted in Sweden also found that it can decrease the likelihood of a person being diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

The scientists also found that people who take medicines such as aspirin and stains take for heart-related conditions have lower rates of dementia.

Chengxuan Qiu of the Ageing Research Centre, established by the Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University, said: "Health check-ups and cardiovascular disease prevention have improved significantly, and we now see results of this improvement reflected in the risk of developing dementia."

Despite this, Dr Eric Karran from Alzheimer's Research UK said that the number of people living with cognitive impairment is still likely to rise as people live for longer.

Indeed, it is estimated that over one million people in the UK will have some form of dementia by 2021.

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