WAPO – Make this one lifestyle change to lower your Parkinson’s disease risk

Man playing tennis

source: Chelsea Conrad/The Washington Post;

There’s still a lot we don’t know about how Parkinson’s disease develops. But one lifestyle intervention already has strong evidence behind it.

Is there anything I can do to lower my risk of developing Parkinson’s disease?

Parkinson’s disease affects over 8.5 million people globally and is rising at an alarming rate: By 2030, the prevalence in many countries will have doubled from what it was in 2005.

There is still a lot we don’t know about how Parkinson’s disease develops. But as a physician-scientist who studies the disease’s origins, I regularly recommend one promising intervention to my patients: aerobic exercise. Even one hour per week of moderate to vigorous exercise — such as tennis, biking, swimming or jogging — has been shown to make a significant difference.

WAPO – Make this one lifestyle change to lower your Parkinson’s disease risk