The longer the legs, the more chances you have to keep your mind in old age

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

By measuring the length of your limbs and comparing them with the data of American scientists, you can roughly estimate your risk of developing Alzheimer's disease in old age. So, long-legged and long-armed people are less likely to suffer from various forms of age-related dementia.

Tina Huang and her colleagues at Taft University measured the length of the legs and the span of the arms of volunteers. All study participants were American, predominantly white, with an average age of 72 years. For five years of observation, 480 people were diagnosed with dementia, RIA Novosti reports with reference to the journal Neurology.

After analyzing the data, the scientists found that women with the lowest arm span were 72% more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease than those with the highest arm span. The risk of other forms of dementia in these women increased by 42%. The length of the legs also influenced the incidence of the disease: an increase in this indicator for every 2.5 centimeters was accompanied by a decrease in the risk of Alzheimer's disease by 22%, other forms of dementia - by 16%, the researchers said.

In men, this dependence was less pronounced and was determined by only one indicator - the span of the arms. An increase in arm span of 2.5 cm was accompanied by a 6-7% reduction in the risk of dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

Scientists noted that the length of a person's arms and legs depends not only on hereditary factors, but also on environmental factors. Metrics such as leg length and arm span can be indicators of malnutrition or malnutrition in early childhood.

These same factors can influence the development of the brain, and in old age determine the susceptibility to Alzheimer's disease.