Questioning the couch

Study suggests people with poor fitness levels indicate accelerated brain ageing

NEW YORK: If you spend more time lounging on the couch than exercising, you should hit the gym ASAP. Poor physical fitness during middle age can accelerate brain ageing in just two decades, warn researchers. “We found a direct correlation between poor fitness and brain volume two decades later which indicates accelerated brain ageing,” said study author, Nicole Spartano from Boston University. People with poor physical fitness often have higher blood pressure and heart rate responses to low levels of exercise, compared to those who are in shape.

For the study, published in the Neurology journal, 1,583 people with an average age of 40 and without dementia or heart disease were enrolled to take a treadmill test. They went through another test, along with MRI brain scans, two decades later. The researchers also analysed the results and excluded participants who developed heart disease or started taking beta blockers to control blood pressure or heart problems. The results showed that those who performed poorly on the treadmill test had smaller brain volume two decades later – the equivalent of two years of accelerated brain ageing.



When people with heart disease or those taking beta blockers were excluded, lower physical performance was associated with reductions of brain volume equal to one year of accelerated brain ageing, the researchers noted. The study also showed that people whose blood pressure and heart rate increased during exercise had smaller brain volumes two decades later. “This showed that poor physical fitness causes a loss of brain volume,” Spartano added. 

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2016.

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