The head would be stronger than the legs: researchers from Geneva have established that preserving brain activity is more effective than physical activity in aging in shape.
To age well, it is better to think than to run! This is the lesson to be learned from a study carried out by researchers in Geneva using data from more than 100,000 people aged 50 to 90 years and published in the journal Health Psychology. Research that shows that brain activity is more important for staying physically fit than physical activity for maintaining good cognitive skills.
Several studies have already shown the link between the practice of regular physical activity and admitted that this promotes the survival of new neurons and preserves memory. What pique the curiosity of scientists at the University of Geneva who wondered if the opposite - use his cognitive skills to keep good physical health - was also true.
Verbal, memory and frequency of physical activity
To find an answer, they gathered data from 105,206 people aged 50 to 90 in the SHARE survey on health, aging and retirement in Europe, which covers the population of 25 countries. Their cognitive abilities were measured every 2 years over a period of 12 years using a verbal proficiency test (they had to name as many animals as possible in 60 seconds) and a memory test (how memorize 10 words and then recite them). Physical activity was measured on a scale of 1 to 4 ranging from "never" of activity to "more than once a week".
The analysis of these elements from statistical models enabled them to measure the impact of physical activity on cognitive performance over time and whether the level of this cognitive activity made it possible to predict the evolution of the capacity to conserve good physical activity.
An "inevitable" decline from the age of 50
What has been confirmed by this work is that physical and cognitive capacities experience an "inevitable" decline from the age of 50, but that cognitive capacities mainly influence physical activity and not vice versa. "This study supports our theory that the brain must make a real effort to get out of a sedentary lifestyle and that by working on cognitive skills, physical activity will follow," said Boris Cheval, one of the authors of this study.
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