Exercise can help protect your brain as you age, and a new study suggests how this might happen.
Previous research has shown that physical activity helps protect brain cells. This document indicates that you can do this through lower levels of insulin and body fat.
“These results may help us understand how physical activity affects brain health, which may guide us in developing strategies to prevent or delay age-related decline in memory and thinking skills,” said study co-author study Géraldine Poisnel, of the Inserm Research Center in Caen, France.
The study included 134 people, average age 69, who had no memory problems. They completed questionnaires about their physical activity during the past year.
The researchers also collected information on the participants’ body mass index (BMI, an estimate of body fat based on weight and height), insulin levels, cholesterol, blood pressure and other health factors.
Brain scans showed that participants with the highest levels of physical activity had a greater total volume of gray matter in their brains (about 550,000 cubic millimeters on average) than people with the least amount of physical activity (about 540 000 cubic millimeters).
When the researchers focused only on the areas of the brain that would be affected by Alzheimer’s disease, they found similar results.
Participants who were more active also had a higher average rate of glucose metabolism in the brain than those who were less active. According to the study, a reduction in glucose metabolism in the brain can be observed in people with dementia.
The results were published online April 13 in the journal Neurology.
Higher levels of physical activity were not associated with the amount of amyloid plaque people had in their brains. Amyloid plaque is a marker of Alzheimer’s disease.
“Older adults who are physically active reap cardiovascular benefits, which could result in greater structural integrity of the brain,” Poisnel said in a journal news release.
The study doesn’t prove that exercise protects brain volume, it just shows an association, the authors said, noting that more research is needed.
Still, “maintaining a lower BMI through physical activity could help prevent the altered insulin metabolism often seen in aging, thereby promoting brain health,” Poisnel said.
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