The good news, from the New York Times’ Fitness and Nutrition page, is that research suggests that exercise may keep dementia at bay. The bad news, from the same page, is that that exercise had better not include too many bumps on the head. The paper reports on a study of retired professional football players that found that those who suffered three or more concussions in their playing days were five times
as likely to suffer mild mental impairment as those who had no
concussions. The study, published in the October issue of Neurology, also found that retired players developed Alzheimer’s disease at a younger age than American men in the general population. Sounds disturbing, but not surprising. Geezer wants to know: Is it a bad sign when you can’t remember how many concussions you’ve had? Read more.
Health, fitness and lifestyle tips for people over 50 who still like to play hard
Thursday, May 8, 2025
I had heard statistics about boxers getting brain damage and possible links to Alzheimer’s from such damage but I had never heard about reports of retired football players getting such damage. Thanks for sharing the information.