healthy lifestyle

Dementia risk linked to healthy lifestyle

The study of nearly 200,000 people showed the risk fell by up to a third.

The team at the University of Exeter said the results were exciting, empowering and showed people were not doomed to get dementia.

The findings were revealed at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference.

What counts as a healthy lifestyle?

The researchers gave people a healthy lifestyle score based on a combination of exercise, diet, alcohol and smoking.

This is an example of someone who scored well:

Weight loss can be tied to when, not just what, you eat

You might skip breakfast. At lunch, you may opt for a salad with lots of veggies, no croutons and low-fat dressing -- on the side, of course.

Then, three o'clock hits.

You're incredibly hungry and craving candy, sweets or chips. You finally cave, eating a candy bar or other treat.

By 6 p.m., you're tearing the kitchen apart, snacking on anything you see.

Why more young women are body building

She says: "I was a size zero. I wanted to actually have that curvy figure and that's why I got into training."

She thinks the trend started in America on social media.

"I think for girls, lifting weights feel good.

"Now they've got empowerment - they don't need a man for money.

"It feels good to walk into that gym, to walk into a weight room and curl more than a guy"

"Some people see it as a bit of self-obsession but I'd say it's the complete opposite.

Hour's activity 'offsets sedentary day'

The analysis of data from more than a million people is part of a study of physical activity published in the Lancet to coincide with the Olympics.

Watching TV was found to be worse than sitting at a desk, probably because of associated habits like snacking.

Current NHS guidelines recommend 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week.

Being inactive is known to increase the risk of conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.

It has been linked to 5.3 million deaths globally a year - compared with 5.1 million linked to smoking.

Signs that you might have an unhealthy addiction to exercise

We live in a health-conscious society where we’re told over and over how important exercise is to our overall wellbeing. Those endless #gethealthy and #personalbest posts on social media posts with people showing off their gym-honed bodies don’t help either.