A
new study has found that exercising three times a week and eating
healthily could reverse the mental decline of ageing by 10 years.The
study conducted by researchers at Duke University Medical Centre in the
US recruited 160 sedentary people with an average age of 65 who did not
have dementia but had problems with decision-making and planning. The
researchers divided the 160 participants into four groups. One did only
the exercise programme, another did it alongside the healthy diet, while
the rest did either the dietary component or received health advice
phone calls.Those given only health advice declined by six months in
three thinking-skills tests. All other groups improved, particularly
those both exercising and eating well.
A
quarter of the subjects did 35-minute sessions of walking, cycling or
jogging three times a week for six months, while eating a healthy diet.
These people started out with an average mental age of 93, determined by
a series of thinking-skills tests. But after six months, their mental
age had improved to the level of an 84-year-old.Exercise and healthy
diet are thought to improve thinking skills by helping the heart work
better, thereby increasing blood flow to the brain.The study, published
in the journal Neurology, shows a relatively short period of lifestyle
change can make a serious difference to age-related thinking problems.
