Half a Marathon a Day: Excessive Walking in People With Dementia Living in Long-Term Care Facilities

People with dementia in general walk less compared to people without cognitive impairment resulting from a lack of initiative and a decline of executive functioning.1 Two studies in community dwelling people with dementia showed an average of around 3000 steps/day.2,3 In long-term care facilities (LTCFs), however, we assume there is a group of residents with dementia who daily walk impressive distances and are expected to have a high energy expenditure. To our knowledge, this has not been quantified to date.