Another study confirms that exercise is good for the brain. The Health, Aging and Body Composition or Health ABC Study enrolled senior citizens in 1998 and 1999. Over the next five years their mental function was carefully monitored. Those older individuals who had the greatest energy expenditure due to physical activity had a dramatically lower likelihood of cognitive decline. Energy expenditure was assessed using a sophisticated metabolic technique that offers an objective measurement. The authors conclude that activity energy expenditure protects the brain in a dose-related manner. In other words, the more you move your body, the better your brain is likely to work.
[Archives of Internal Medicine, online July 19, 2011]
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