Researchers have found a correlation between
physical fitness level and cognitive performance on learning, memory, and
verbal fluency tests.
by John
Tyburski
Copyright © Daily
Digest News, KPR Media, LLC. All rights reserved.
Feeling
winded after a flight of stairs? It could be a sign of not only inadequate
cardiovascular fitness but also a drop in brain fitness as well.
Researchers
at Brigham Young University in Utah reported this week that cognitive functions
such as learning and memory decrease as physical fitness levels decrease. They
used a metric of modifiable health behaviors and factors developed by the
American Heart Association called “Life’s Simple 7”
to examine whether physically fit people have lower cognitive or brain function
difficulties.
The report,
published on Wednesday online in the Journal of the American Heart Association,
describes the study in detail and the finding that intermediate and high
cardiovascular health (CVH) both associated with lower incidence or occurrence
of cognitive impairment. There was not a gradual decrease in incidence but a
similarly lower risk for both medium and high CVH compared with low CVH. This
means that an individual may need only to achieve moderate CVH through physical
activity and healthy diet to lower his or her risk of cognitive impairment.
“Even when
ideal cardiovascular health is not achieved intermediate levels of
cardiovascular health are preferable to low levels for better cognitive
function,” Dr. Evan L. Thacker, assistant professor and chronic
disease epidemiologist, said in a statement.
“This is an encouraging message because intermediate cardiovascular
health is a more realistic target for many individuals than ideal
cardiovascular health.”
Thacker and
coworkers studied over 17,700 subjects in the Reasons for Geographic and Racial
Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) cohort study. They classified scores from the
Simple 7 assessments as low, intermediate, and high CVH and then assessed
cognitive function by testing on verbal learning, memory, and fluency.
Cognitive impairment was found in 4.6 percent of the low CVH scorers, 2.7
percent in the intermediate scorers, and 2.6 percent in the high scorers.
The results
suggest a fit body, even moderately so, may actually help maintain a fit mind,
but the reason mental fitness may be linked to physical fitness is still
unknown.
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