Train The Brain-Part Two

Previously, I have written about the relationship between exercise and what has become known as “cognitive function” (see TOTW, “Train The Brain” and “The Brain’s Revenge”). In those articles, I attempted to give the possible clues as to what actually might cause the positive connection between exercise, weight gain and brain function as we age—especially as we reach our “golden years” and beyond. More recent evidence is beginning to show that this correlation between exercise and brain function is, perhaps, even stronger than we once thought. In other words, if one becomes more fit and attempts to stay that way throughout life, they really do “think better” and seem to be able to focus and learn at a higher rate as they age.

In a study that spanned nearly seventy years and completed in Scotland, “surviving” participants were tested for strength and simple tests of endurance and then subsequently tested for cognitive ability (the ability to think and analyze). These subjects were first tested for cognitive ability in 1932 at the age of eleven. Nearly seventy years later, at the age of seventy-nine, the survivors were retested and a rather pronounced positive relationship between their levels of physical fitness and their intellectual capacities and abilities was found. Seemingly, those that remained more fit throughout life had also indirectly “trained” their brain to perform at a higher level as they aged.

Other more recent studies have shown a positive relationship between a lower Body Mass Index (BMI) and brain function. This means that being overweight or obese was found to be a factor in what might be considered declining cognitive ability. In one study, for example, tests for cognitive ability and body weight (measured as BMI) were administered to over 2,000 participants at age 32 and, subsequently, at age 62. The results? Not only did the subjects with a lower BMI perform better on cognitive function tests at age 62, it was also found that the EARLIER the subjects embraced a fitter life style (in other words, controlled their body weight and exercised), the BETTER their brain function appeared to be in later life. Another study showed that obese individuals were more than twice as likely to suffer from dementia as they aged as test subjects that were considered merely “overweight”. Moreover, those test subjects that were considered overweight were 35% more likely to suffer from dementia than those subjects that were considered to be of “normal” body weight (generally a BMI of between about 20 and 25*).

So what’s the connection? Well, exercise should be considered a natural and effective form of preventive medicine and evidence of this relationship as it effects our brain function as we age continues to grow. So do your body—and your head—a favor and get moving. It appears that exercise really can make us smarter as well as more fit.

I’m Dr. Paul Kennedy and that’s the “Be Fit, Stay Fit” Topic of the Week. Good luck with YOUR program. I KNOW you can do it!

* Body Mass Index (BMI) is explained on pp. 74 and 75 of “Be Fit, Stay Fit—Why Your Workout Doesn’t Work…And How To Fix It!

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