Being a couch potato may shrink your brain
Being a couch potato won’t just make your waistline expand – it could also make your brain shrink.
Men and women who were unfit in their 40s had less grey matter by the time they hit 60, a study found. Some also did less well on a mental test.
The Daily Mail reports researchers told a major heart conference that being fit in middle-age may help keep the brain young.
Lead author, Nicole Spartano, said: ‘Many people don’t start worrying about their brain health until later in life but this study provides more evidence that certain behaviours and risk factors in midlife may have consequences for brain ageing later on.’
The Boston University study tracked the fitness and brain health of more than 1,200 adults for two decades.
At the start of the study, the men and women, who had an average age of 41, were put through their paces on a treadmill.
Change in blood pressure and heart rate were noted as they tried to keep with a treadmill belt going at a relatively gentle 2.5mph.
When they hit 60, they underwent brain scans and mental tests.
Those whose heart rate rapidly increased while walking on the treadmill had less grey matter at 60, an American Heart Association conference in Baltimore heard.
The study also linked big increases in diastolic blood pressure – the lower of the two figures in a blood pressure reading – with loss of mental sharpness.
Those whose diastolic blood pressure rose within a few minutes of being on the treadmill did worse on a test of decision-making.
It is thought that the large and rapid increases in heart rate and blood pressure seen when those who are unfit exercise damage the brain, leading to cells dying.
Category: Features, Health alert
