Doing This Can Decrease Your Risk Of Parkinson's By Up To 25%

Parkinson's disease—a degenerative brain condition that causes tremors and other mobility-related symptoms—is estimated to affect nearly 8.5 million people1 worldwide. A recently published study2 found that one lifestyle practice can reduce your risk of developing the condition by 25%. Read on to learn one more reason to consider incorporating exercise into your lifestyle if you don't already. 

There's no shortage of reasons to exercise; just a little bit of Googling will reveal its numerous physical and mental health benefits. And according to this new study from researchers at Université Paris-Saclay, we can add Parkinson's prevention to the list of exercise benefits.

The team of researchers analyzed over 95,000 women who did not have Parkinson's disease in 2000. They followed the group of women for over 17 years and found that at the end of the study period, about 1,000 of the women developed the condition. The researchers also collected data regarding the type and intensity of physical activity the women did and assigned each participant a physical activity "score" based on that information. 

The researchers found an inverse correlation between exercise and Parkinson's disease, meaning that the women with the highest exercise rates had the lowest Parkinson's rates. In fact, the study showed that Parkinson's incidence rates were 25% lower for women who exercised the most compared with women who exercised the least.  

Study author Alexis Elbaz, M.D., Ph.D., professor at the National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Paris explained in a statement, "Our results support the creation of exercise programs to help lower the risk of Parkinson's disease." The best news? Unlike expensive pharmaceutical interventions that can come with side effects, exercise is free. "Exercise is a low-cost way to improve health overall, so our study sought to determine if it may be linked to a lower risk of developing Parkinson's disease, a debilitating disease that has no cure," Elbaz continued. 

Exercise: This study demonstrates that one of the best ways to support your brain is to find a physical activity you love, and it doesn't matter what you do or when you do it. So whether it's gardening, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workouts, yoga, or pickleball, it's important to get moving.

A new study shows that being a frequent exerciser can reduce your risk of Parkinson's disease by 25%, adding to a growing pile of evidence that exercise is one of the best things you can do for your long-term health.