Exercise could delay dementia
Friday March 8th, 2013
Short bouts of exercise boost brain function, which could help delay dementia, it has been claimed.
“Given
the trend for a more sedentary lifestyle, worldwide ageing and the increasing
prevalence of dementia, the results highlight the importance of engaging
in physical exercise in the general population,” say the Dutch authors
of research into the effect of exercise on the brain.
They found that bouts of moderately intense exercise had an effect across three age groups from six to 35 years, probably because of increased blood and oxygen flow to the pre-frontal cortex.
The report, published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, describes how Dutch researchers searched medical research databases for studies that looked at the impact of physical exercise on higher brain functions, such as memory, concentration, planning, and decision-making, in three groups: 6 to 12 year olds; 13 to 17 year olds; and 18 to 35 year olds.
They found 24 relevant studies up to April 2012, 19 of which looked at the impact of short bouts of exercise, while five focused on the impact of regular exercise.
Although regular exercise seemed to have little impact on higher brain functions, there were too few studies and their results were too inconsistent to be able to draw firm conclusions, the authors said.
Twelve of the 19 studies looked at self control, and the analysis indicated that short bouts of exercise improved higher brain function across all three age groups, registering a small to moderate impact.
This is particularly important for children and teens because well developed higher brain functions are important for academic achievement and other aspect of daily life, say the authors.
“These positive effects of physical exercise on inhibition/interference control are encouraging and highly relevant, given the importance of inhibitory control and interference control in daily life," they write.
“Inhibition is essential for regulation of behaviour and emotions in social, academic, and sport settings," they add.
Verburgh L, Konigs M, Scherder E et al, Physical exercise and executive functions in preadolescent children, adolescents, and young adults: a meta-analysis. British Journal of Sports Medicine doi: 10.1136/bjsports-2012-091441 [abstract]
Tags: Brain & Neurology | Europe | Fitness | Mental Health
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