Did you remember to exercise today? Research has revealed that physical activity may influence the onset of dementia. An upcoming lecture at ANU will explore this ground-breaking research.

“Let’s get physical,” said Nicola Lautenschlager, Professor of Old Age Psychiatry at Melbourne University. “I mean that in the nicest possible way of course,” she said.

“Studies show that physical activity may play an important role in staving off the development of dementia,” she said.

Professor Lautenschlager from the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Melbourne, is a Visiting Fellow at the Dementia Collaborative Research Centre (DCRC) (focussing on early detection and prevention) at The Australian National University. During her visit she will be delivering a public talk on the topic of physical activity for successful ageing.

“We all know the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices for the benefit of our physical, mental and cognitive health, aiming to prevent health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and stroke,” she said. “But the knowledge that physical activity may also help to prevent the development of cognitive decline and dementia in older age is less well-known.”

Professor Lautenschlager says it is never too late to start, particularly as dementia is the second largest killer of older Australians, and the number of people developing dementia worldwide is rising.

“We should all try to incorporate daily exercise – even mild exercise – into our lives,” she said.

“But I also encourage health care providers, health professionals, the fitness industry – effectively any organisation involved in supporting preventive health and wellbeing – to take this on board.”

“Physical activity should be seen as another tool in the toolbox to protect brain health in older age, and this is also important for those older Australians who already experience some changes to their memory,” she said.

“In my talk I will provide practical information on how to get started either as an individual or to set up physical activity programs for middle-aged and older adults to target cognitive health,” she said.

Professor Lautenschlager’s lunchtime lecture is at the Finkel Lecture Theatre, ANU on Wednesday 4 November 2015.  A light lunch will be served afterwards. All members of the public are invited to attend. Enquiries: Heather Hubble 02 6125 2584