This is the VOA Special English Health Report.
这里是美国之音慢速英语健康报道。
Increasing evidence suggests that being active can reduce a person's risk of dementia. Dementia is the name for the effects of Alzheimer's disease, stroke and other brain disorders.
越来越多的证据表明，保持运动可以降低患老年痴呆症的风险。老年痴呆症是阿尔茨海默氏症、中风和其它脑部疾病影响的总称。
People may be considered to have dementia if they lose abilities in two or more areas such as memory and language skills. Other signs of dementia include a loss of ability to think clearly or control emotions.
如果一个人失去两个或更多区域的功能，例如记忆和语言功能，那么这个人就会被认为已经痴呆。其他痴呆的迹象包括失去清晰思考或控制情绪的能力。
The World Health Organization says about thirty-five million people worldwide are living with dementia.
世界卫生组织表示，全世界大约3500万人患有痴呆症。
Most studies of exercise and dementia depend on self-reporting -- asking people to report their levels of physical activity. Laura Middleton is a researcher at the Sunnybrook Research Institute and the University of Waterloo in Canada. She says there are problems with self-reporting.
大多数关于运动和老年痴呆症的研究依赖于患者的自我报告，即要求人们报告他们的身体运动水平。Laura Middleton是多伦多新宁研究院(Sunnybrook Research Institute)和加拿大滑铁卢大学的研究人员。她说，自我报告也存在一定的问题。
LAURA MIDDLETON: “It does a very good job of capturing jogging, or biking or tennis but does a relatively poor job of capturing low-intensity activity like walking or daily chores, which may also be important to the risk of cognitive impairment.”
Laura Middleton：“他们在报告慢跑，骑自行车或网球方面做的不错，但是在了解低强度的运动，例如步行或日常工作方面做的相对较差，这些活动对于避免认知损害来说也非常重要。”
So, Professor Middleton led a team in a new study to measure activity levels scientifically. The study lasted five years. Almost two hundred people took part. Their average age was seventy-five.
所以，Middleton教授带领研究小组进行了一项新的研究，对运动水平进行科学的衡量。这项研究持续了五年的时间，接近200人参加。他们的平均年龄是75岁。
The people drank small amounts of what scientists call doubly labeled water. It contains forms of hydrogen and oxygen that can mark, or label, these elements within body water. This way scientists can measure energy use through urine tests.
这些人喝下少量被科学家称为双标记水的液体。这种氢氧化合物能够在体液中标记出自身元素，或所谓在体液中示踪出这些元素。这样科学家就能通过尿液检测，测量出体能的消耗。
Laura Middleton says the research showed that even low-intensity activity reduced the risk of thinking problems and memory loss.
Laura Middleton表示，研究表明，即使低强度的运动也可以降低思考问题和记忆力下降的风险。
LAURA MIDDLETON: "Those with higher activity energy expenditure had ninety percent reduced risk of incident cognitive impairment over the follow-up period compared to those with very low activity energy expenditure.”
Laura Middleton：“与运动能量消耗较低的人相比，运动能量消耗更高的人以后出现认知障碍的风险低90%。”
The study is published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
这项研究发表在内科学文献（Archives of Internal Medicine）上。
In a second study, French researchers reported on exercise and dementia in women with heart risks like obesity or diabetes.
在另一项研究中，法国研究人员就运动和存在肥胖症或糖尿病一类心脏病风险的女性的关系发表了报告。
Marie-Noel Vercambre of the Foundation for Public Health in Paris led the study. The findings suggest that even a half-hour walk at a quick speed every day could lower the risk of cognitive impairment.
巴黎公共卫生基金会的Marie-Noel Vercambre领导了这项研究。结果表明，每天快速行走半个小时也可以降低认知障碍的风险。
Dr. Eric Larson of the Group Health Research Institute in Seattle, Washington, wrote a commentary about the studies. He says the findings add to the evidence about the mental value of physical activity.
美国西雅图群体健康研究所(Group Health Research Institute, Seattle)的Eric Larson对这项研究发表了评论。他说，该研究的结果增加了体育运动对大脑健康的重要性的证据。
ERIC LARSON: "It's not obvious to people that exercise would make your brain healthier. And as each study does more detailed analyses of special groups or a different way of making the measurements, it just makes the scientific basis for this relationship a lot more convincing."
Eric Larson：“运动能使大脑更为健康这点对人们来说并不明显。而各项研究就特定人群进行更为具体的分析，或使用不同方式进行检测。这将使运动与大脑健康两者关系的科学基础更使人信服。”
