Walking, Jogging Delays Alzheimer's Disease in Older Adults

Older adults with better cardio-respiratory fitness levels had reduced these age-related changes in memory performance and brain activity.

Highlights

Older adults who scored high on cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) tests performed better on memory tasks.
Fit older adults showed better memory performance and increased brain activity patterns in brain regions that show typical age-related decline.
Maintaining high levels of fitness through physical activity can slow down memory decline.

Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is a modifiable health factor that can be improved through regular engagement in moderate to vigorous sustained physical activity such as walking, jogging, swimming, or dancing.

Older adults who scored high on CRF tests performed better on memory tasks than those who had low CRF. Further, the more fit older adults were, the more active their brain was during learning.

Essentials of Cardiorespiratory Fitness
Cardiorespiratory fitness is the ability of the body's circulatory and respiratory systems to supply energy and oxygen during sustained physical activity.

‘Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) is not only important for physical health, it is also associated with brain function and memory performance as one ages.’

‘Cardio’or aerobic exercise is repetitive, rigorous, rhythmic, and involves the large muscles (like the arms and thighs). Aerobic translates as ‘with oxygen’; therefore this form works the circulatory system, increasing blood flow to the heart (and thereby oxygen flow) and improves cardiovascular fitness.

Aerobic activities include walking, jogging, cycling, jumping rope, swimming, kickboxing, using the treadmill, aerobic dancing.

According to the researchers this study highlights that CRF is not only important for physical health, but is also associated with brain function and memory performance.

Exercise and Fitness - Benefits - Classification - Options - Kick Off
Exercise is about revamping your lifestyle, not just weight loss. Exercise to get healthy – that way, you’ll last longer at it and get better results.

Difficulty remembering new information represents one of the most common complaints in aging and decreased memory performance is one of the hallmark impairments in Alzheimer’s disease.

Cardiorespiratory fitness was assessed in healthy young (18-31 years) and older adults (55-74 years). They were made to walk and jog on a treadmill while researchers measured the ratio of inhaled and exhaled oxygen and carbon dioxide. These participants also underwent MRI scans which collected images of their brain while they learned and remembered names that were associated with pictures of unfamiliar faces.

Five Essential Components of Physical Fitness
Did you know that physical fitness is more important than maintaining your figure or a six-pack? Read on to know more about the 5 components of fitness.

The researchers found that older adults, when compared to younger adults, had more difficulty learning and remembering the correct name that was associated with each face.

Age differences in brain activation were observed during the learning of the face-name pairs, with older adults showing decreased brain activation in some regions and increased brain activation in others. However, the degree to which older adults demonstrated these age-related changes in memory performance and brain activity largely depended on their fitness level.

Walking for Fitness and Weight Loss
A few extra steps a day are enough to keep you fit.

In particular, high fit older adults showed better memory performance and increased brain activity patterns compared to their low fit peers. The increased brain activation in the high fit older adults was observed in brain regions that show typical age-related decline, suggesting fitness may contribute to brain maintenance.

Higher fit older adults also had greater activation than young adults in some brain regions, suggesting that fitness may also serve a compensatory role in age-related memory and brain decline.

“Therefore, starting an exercise program, regardless of one’s age, can not only contribute to the more obvious physical health factors, but may also contribute to memory performance and brain function," explained corresponding author Scott Hayes, PhD, assistant professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine and the Associate Director of the Neuroimaging Research for Veterans Center at the VA Boston Healthcare System.

The researchers caution that maintaining high levels of fitness through physical activity will not entirely eliminate or cure age- or Alzheimer’s disease related decline, but it may slow down the decline.

Future studies following individuals’ fitness and physical activity levels, memory, and brain function over the course of years would more directly address this issue.

Reference

Scott Hayes et al., Older, fitter adults experience greater brain activity while learning, Cortex (2017).
https://www.medindia.net/patients/lifestyleandwellness/exercise-and-fitness-classification.htm.

Source-Medindia