Exercise Slows Brain Aging By 10 Years For Older People
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WiregrassSeniorsMagazine . com
Exercise Slows Brain Aging By 10 Years For Older People
– Certainly , by now , most senior citizens know their health and mental abilities are enhanced by exercise . Results of a new study , however , makes a more definitive prediction – older people who do little exercise may see a mental decline that puts them 10 years behind those who do at least a modest amount .
The study reported in Neurology , the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology , points out that exercise has been well established as a way to slow the rate of decline in thinking skills that occurs with aging .
The study found , however , that seniors who reported light to no exercise experienced a decline equal to 10 more years of aging as compared to people who reported moderate to intense exercise .
" The number of people over the age of 65 in the United States is on the rise , meaning the public health burden of thinking and memory problems will likely grow ," said study author Clinton B . Wright , MD , MS , of the University of Miami in Miami , Fla ., and member of the American Academy of Neurology .
" Our study showed that for older people , getting regular exercise may be protective , helping them keep their cognitive abilities longer ."
For the study , researchers looked at data on 876 people enrolled in the Northern Manhattan Study who were asked how long and how often they exercised during the two weeks prior to that date .
An average of seven years later , each person was given tests of memory and thinking skills and a brain MRI , and five years after that they took the memory and thinking tests again .
Of the group , 90 percent reported light exercise or no exercise . Light exercise could include activities such as walking and yoga . They were placed in the low activity group . The remaining 10 percent reported moderate to high intensity exercise , which could include activities such as running , aerobics , or calisthenics . They were placed in the high activity group