Health NOTES
first lockdown ‘led To a less healthy lifestyle for many’
PEOPLE drank more alcohol, ate less fruit and vegetables, and took less exercise during the UK’S first lockdown, according to research by the University of east Anglia.
Young people, women and those who are overweight were most likely to adopt unhealthy behaviours.
More than 1,000 participants signed up to a daily lifestyle survey last April and answered questions for three months.
Analysis indicated that people drank more alcohol in total, with women consuming it more frequently, but men drinking in greater quantities per occasion.
People also ate on average one portion less of fruit and veg per day during lockdown.
Dr Felix Naughton, of the UEA School of Health Sciences, said: “exercise helps improve immune function so the fact that those most at risk of being severely affected by Covid-19 were doing the least exercise is a worry. Social distancing and shielding can make exercise more difficult, so finding ways around this is important.”
Walking more slowly may be early predictor of dementia
THE speed at which you walk could be a predictor of dementia according to a Canadian study.
Researchers studied a group of older adults, all free of dementia at the time of recruitment, tracking their walking speed and cognitive function over seven years, and found that the risk of developing dementia was three times higher in people who had a decline in both walking speed and cognition than in people whose performance declined in only one of them.
Vascular risk factors, particularly high blood pressure, increased the likelihood of a decline in both conditions.