An elderly woman is pictured in the birth village of Gavrilo Princip
An elderly woman is pictured in the birth village of Gavrilo Princip, the 19-year-old Bosnian Serb who gunned down Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 and lit the fuse for World War One, in Obljaj June 27, 2014. Bosnian Serbs will open the birth house of Gavrilo Princip in Obljaj on Saturday in honour of Princip, on the centenary of the assassination. Different centenary commemorations of the event speak volumes to Bosnia a century on, where perceptions of Princip have been warped by time and politics, and wounds are still raw from the bloody demise of Yugoslavia. Serbs see Princip as a heroic fighter for the freedom of all southern Slavs from centuries of imperial occupation over the Balkans while to others, he was a nationalist terrorist whose gunshot heralded four years of slaughter and suffering, as more than 10 million soldiers died and empires crumbled. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic (BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT ANNIVERSARY) Reuters

According to the World Alzheimer's Report 2014, released recently by Alzheimer's Disease International in New Zealand, certain key lifestyle changes can help reduce the risk of developing dementia.

Pushing forward the message "a healthy heart is a healthy mind," the publishers of the report, titled Dementia Risk Reduction: An Analysis of Protective and Modifiable Factors, said in the report that what is good for the heart is good for the brain as well.

The report said that limiting smoking or tobacco use, detention and control of blood pressure, diabetes and other cardiovascular risks can to a large extent help in reducing the risk of developing dementia in later life. Keeping your heart healthy is one of the many ways to keep dementia at bay, said the report authors.

Catherine Hall, executive director of Alzheimers NZ, said that being physically and emotionally active, which includes leading a healthy life, enjoying a good social life and keeping your heart healthy reduce the chance of dementia. "The evidence in the report suggests that if we enter old age with better developed, healthier brains we are likely to live longer, happier and more independent lives, with a much reduced chance of developing dementia," said Hall.

Dementia in New Zealand is at a peak with nearly 50,000 New Zealanders living with dementia. The number is most likely to triple within a few decades, according to NZ Doctor. While diabetes is likely to increase dementia risk by 50 per cent, obesity, physical and mental inactivity, smoking and high alcohol consumption are other factors that increase the possibility of developing dementia in old age.

A study of few people aged 65 and above showed that though smokers who continue to smoke are at a higher risk of developing dementia, smokers who have quit smoking too carry a risk.

"What's fascinating is most New Zealanders don't realise that they can actually do something about dementia," said Grainne Moss, managing director of Bupa Care Services. He further said a recent research found that though 69 per cent of New Zealanders feared that they might develop dementia, not many people knew that a little change in their lifestyle could help them it as well. While 72 per cent of people thought it was the age, 67 per cent believed it was the genetics that is responsible for causing dementia.

The researchers are hence promoting brain health and have concluded that healthy lifestyle from mid-life onwards can ensure a longer and happier life, free from dementia and other serious ailments.