In this episode, Laura DeFina, MD, from Cooper Institute, is interviewed about research published this month in the Annals of Internal of Medicine. The study, shows that individuals who are fit at midlife have a lower risk of deveoping Alzheimer's disease and other dementias in their Medicare years.

The study followed more than 19,000 generally healthy men and women who completed a preventive medical exam at Cooper Clinic in Dallas when they were, on average, 49 years of age. The exam also included an assessment of other health risk factors such as body mass index (BMI), blood pressure, and cholesterol. Their health status was evaluated using Medicare data between the years 1999 and 2009, an average of 24 years after their Cooper Clinic examination.

Listen to hear Dr. DeFina's thoughts on the study.