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ToggleCouch potatoes have a higher risk of brain decline even if they work out
People with lots of sedentary behavior had a higher risk of cognitive decline, despite most meeting national exercise recommendations
Folks with a high genetic risk for Alzheimer’s were particularly affected
MONDAY, May 19, 2025 (HealthDay News) — Couch potatoes are more likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, even if they set aside time to work out each day, a new study says.
People who spent more time sitting around were more likely to experience cognitive decline and brain degeneration, no matter how much they exercised, researchers reported May 13 in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
“Reducing your risk for Alzheimer’s disease is not just about working out once a day,” lead researcher Marissa Gogniat, an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Pittsburgh, said in a news release.
“Minimizing the time spent sitting, even if you do exercise daily, reduces the likelihood of developing Alzheimer’s disease,” she added.
For the study, her team tracked activity levels for more than 400 adults 50 and older, using watches that measured their movement continuously for a week.
The team then followed people for an average seven-year follow-up period.
More sedentary time was linked to brain shrinkage and worse performance on memory and information processing tests, researchers found.
This increased risk occurred even though 87% of the people met the weekly physical activity recommendations set forth by the U.S. government, results show.
This shows that sitting around could be an independent Alzheimer’s risk factor, and that exercise will not mitigate all the harmful effects of sedentary behavior, researchers said.
The link between sedentary time and cognitive decline was stronger in people who carried the APOE-e4 genetic risk factor for Alzheimer’s, researchers added.
“Our study showed that reducing sitting time could be a promising strategy for preventing neurodegeneration and subsequent cognitive decline,” said senior researcher Angela Jefferson, founding director of the Vanderbilt Memory and Alzheimer’s Center in Nashville, Tenn.
“It is critical to our brain health to take breaks from sitting throughout the day and move around to increase our active time,” she added in a news release.
Future study should focus on figuring out why sitting around might contribute to brain decline, researchers said.
SOURCE: Vanderbilt University Medical Center, news release, May 12, 2025
Middle-aged folks should understand that exercise won’t fully protect their brain health, if they spend too much time otherwise sitting around.
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