Hi! I'm Stelios Pantazis.

I'm a doctor and I specialize in
medical nutrition and metabolic disorders.

Today, I'd like to try a new form
of videos for YouTube and Facebook.

Tell me if you like it
in the comment section.

I'd like to present a subject
using a presentation

and I'd really like to see
if you like this form

and want to see it again in the future.

Today, I'd like to talk about five changes
in your lifestyle that you can make today,

in order to significantly reduce the chance
to develop Alzheimer's disease

or dementia, which is used
with the same meaning in this case,

although it's not exactly the same.

The presentation is based on a study
that was published a few years ago.

It was carried out in Chicago.

It's worth mentioning what
the principal researcher of the study said.

He said that the aim of the study
is to motivate people

to introduce a healthier lifestyle

and, it this way, to protect
their cognitive function in old age.

The study is based
on two groups of populations,

who had been monitored for many years.

In total, almost 3,000 people
were monitored for almost six years.

The average age was 73 years old
in the first group

and 81 years old
in the second group approximately.

Two out of three participants were women.

They were monitored for six years.

They measured five risk factors.

They recorded if the patients
were smoking or not,

if they were involved
in any form of activity,

for at least 150 minutes a week,

if women often consumed over 15 gr
of alcohol, and men over 30 gr.

You can see the equivalent beer
or wine next to it.

We'll talk about these factors
a bit more at the end of the presentation,

in a few minutes.

Highquality diet,
as we discuss together all the time.

And of course, participation
in activities that demand thinking,

such as writing, reading, chess etc.,
and certainly not TV.

What was found out was that those that
checked 2 or 3 factors during monitoring

had 37% fewer chances to develop dementia

compared to those
that checked 01 positive factor,

namely they checked
at least 4 negative factors,

while those that checked 4 or 5 factors

had 60% fewer chances to develop
dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

That's a quite significant percentage.

Let's see these factors
onebyone in the next few minutes.

The first and maybe most important factor,
quitting smoking.

I know that negotiations will start now.

Is it okay to smoke 3 or 5 cigarettes?
Are 2 cigarettes too many?

Is one packet a month okay?

This study doesn't answer these questions.

The answer in this study was "Yes" or "No".

Do you smoke? Yes. No.

Nothing else.

Is this a problem? It is.

I'd prefer to tell you that
3.5 cigarettes a day are okay,

while 5.5 are not.

The study didn't work like that.

The study answers "Yes" or "No".

Therefore, the best thing you can do is
answer "Yes", if you haven't done so already.

Let's go to the second risk factor
that was studied,

whether the participants did
intense or moderate exercise.

The minimum was 150 minutes a week.

What does moderate and intense mean?

Moderate exercise increases
the energy expenditure

by 36 times compared to sitting down.

It is estimated that, when we sit down,
we burn about 1 calorie per kg of weight.

If you're 80 kg, you burn about 80 calories
an hour when you do nothing at all.

To do moderate exercise,

the energy expenditure
must be three times this amount,

namely at least 240 calories an hour.

This means 120 calories per 30 minutes.

You may have a watch that records calories
or your mobile phone,

there are many activity trackers,
many mobile phone applications,

plain watches that count,

they're not absolutely accurate,
but they're close.

You burn 36 times more than while sitting

when you do 6 km/hour racewalking,

not walking, strolling,
trudging on Ermou St. etc.

Conscious and lively racewalking. 6 km/hour.

Or when you cycle
at a speed of 1520 km/hour.

It requires some effort.

It doesn't mean pedaling occasionally
and letting the bicycle move on its own.

It requires conscious pedaling.

Intense exercise means 6 times
more calories than while sitting.

For someone who's 80 kg,
this means more than 480 calories.

This happens when you run
at a speed of over 10 km/hour

or you cycle at a speed of over 20 km/hour

or when you participate in a team sport,
such as basketball, football,

or an individual sport such as tennis,

namely when you do some sport
where you try to win, to achieve a result.

That's all about exercise.

Most people don't take part
in a physical activity

and this poses a problem.

Therefore, it must be dealt with.

The other factor is alcohol.

This is a sore subject.

Fortunately, most people
don't consume too much alcohol.

At my office, I discuss
with tens of people every day

and few of them say
that they consume alcohol daily.

More people say that they consume alcohol
once or twice a week, a little more.