The Health Benefits of Bingo – It’s Official!

July 1, 2009 Bingo News

Written by Lisa (July 1, 2009 at 7:33 am)

According to a recent study, social activities such as Bingo, attending church and even joining organisations like the Women’s Institute are perfect for keeping an active and youthful mind. The findings indicate that participating in regular social events which help to engage the brain can also help stave off disability and even death in later life.

The results from the study, as reported in the Telegraph and published in the Archives of Internal Medicine journal, found that the risk of developing a disability was reduced by 65 per cent, and death by 40 per cent, just through regular engagement in pursuits like Bingo.
The study, conducted by the Rush University Medical Centre in Chicago, looked at the motor functions of around 96 elderly patients and how they declined in old age for a period totalling over five years. Dr Aron S. Buchman, who led the study, said “Decline in motor function is a familiar consequence of aging”. Whilst it is expected that as we get older, our motor functions will decrease in their capacity, it is also potentially responsible for a number of serious health problems that are associated with old age. Amongst them are disability, dementia, and it is suggested that declining motor functions are even linked to death.

Moreover, the study suggested that by keeping an active social life, it could eclipse other serious medical conditions, with the link health benefits of an active social life remaining despite some participants suffering from serious illnesses.

The findings raise the need for further studies to be conducted to ensure the relationship is causal, with published recommendations saying “These data raise the possibility that social engagement can slow motor function decline and possibly delay adverse health outcomes from such decline. Further work is needed to ensure that this is a causal relationship”.

However, for the millions of bingo fans the report comes as no surprise and merely confirms their assertions that bingo is a surefire way to keep you happy and healthy, no matter how old you are!

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