Watching TV reduces the risk of dementia by nearly a quarter, scientists claim .
They said that people who engaged in "mental activities" such as reading or listening to the radio were up to 23% less likely to develop thedisease.
Dr. Lin Lu of Peking University Hospital examineddementia-prone individualsin his 38 studies of 2 million people .
He found that exercise reduced his risk by 17%, and social activities such as volunteering reduced his risk by 7%.
Dr. Lu acknowledged thatthe effects of watching television need further investigation. Past studies that found out too much can be a risk.
Dr. Sara Imarisio of Alzheimer's Research UK said:
Dr. Lu added:
"Our study found that making crafts, playing sports, and volunteering was associated with a reduced risk of dementia.
