Fitter legs could improve brain ageing

Muscle fitness, measured by power in the legs, is associated with an improved rate of ageing in the brain, according to a study published by the British Society of Gerontology.

Researchers at King's College London suggest that simple interventions, such as increased levels of walking, which are targeted to improve leg power in the long-term, could have an impact on healthy cognitive ageing.

Dr Doug Brown, director of research at Alzheimer’s Society, said: "This study adds to the growing evidence that physical activity can help you to look after your brain as well as your body, however we still don’t fully understand how this relationship works and how we can maximise the benefit.

"By identifying which aspects of fitness and physical activity are important for the brain’s health, we hope to be able to offer more specific advice on how individuals can reduce the risk of dementia." During the study, researchers measured various health and lifestyle predictors of 324 healthy female twins from the TwinsUK volunteer registry over a ten-year period from 1999.

Participants with an average age of 55 (range 43-73) were assessed to enable researchers to control for genetic factors affecting changes in cognitive function.

Researchers measured thinking, learning and memory at both the beginning and end of the study and it was found that leg power was a better predictor of cognitive change than any other lifestyle factors tested.

In addition, the twin who presented more leg power at the start of the study sustained better cognition after ten years and had fewer brain changes associated with ageing.

Dr Brown added: “While these results will be able to inform future trials investigating the role of exercise, none of the women in this study developed dementia in the ten year monitoring period.

"We have yet to see if the improvements in memory tests actually translate into a reduced risk of dementia."

According to Alzheimer’s Society, 225,000 people will develop dementia each year, equivalent to one every three minutes.

Chief executive at Alzheimer’s Society, Jeremy Hughes, said: "With 850,000 people living with dementia in the UK and with numbers set to soar to one million by 2021, dementia is one of the biggest health and social care challenges we face today."