High-Intensity Exercise Improves Memory and Wards Off Dementia

McMaster University Professor Jennifer J. Heisz reports in Yahoo! News that her team's latest research in the NeuroFit Lab indicates that high-intensity exercise can lead to memory improvements among seniors and possibly stave off dementia. "We enrolled sedentary seniors in a new exercise program and, in just 12 weeks, their memories improved," she says. "But this only happened for those who walked at a higher intensity, and their memory gains were directly related to their improvements in physical fitness." The lab analyzed interaction between genetic and physical activity in more than 1,600 older adults who were part of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging. "Within our sample, around 25 percent had a genetic risk factor for dementia but the majority around 75 percent did not," Heisz notes. "This is representative of the population at large. All participants were dementia-free at the start of the study, and we followed up with them five years later." The researchers learned that 21 percent of participants with a genetic risk developed dementia and physical activity had no effect on them, while active people lacking a genetic risk had a significantly lower risk of developing dementia than their inactive counterparts. "Critically, those who were inactive were at a similar risk to those who were genetically predisposed for dementia, suggesting that physical inactivity can negate a healthy set of genes," Heisz concludes.