Walking Boosts Brainpower

The above headline comes from WebMD on September 2, 2008. It is based on a study published in the September 3, 2008 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The WebMD article starts off by stating, "Older adults who take a brisk stroll just three times a week could boost their brainpower and reduce the risk of memory-robbing illnesses such as Alzheimer's disease."

The study conducted between 2004 and 2007, in Perth, Western Australia reviewed the results of 138 participants, in the study who completed an 18 month assessment. The participants in this study were all 50 years of age and older and reported some degree of memory problems, but did not meet the criteria to be classified as having dementia. The average age of the participants was 69 years.

Participants were placed into one of two groups. One group, which researchers called the "usual care group", was given education while those assigned to the activity program exercised 142 more minutes each week, or 20 more minutes per day, than those in the usual care group. Walking was the most frequently recommended type of activity.

Those in the walking group scored higher on cognitive tests and had better delayed recall. Researchers also found lower Clinical Dementia Rating scores among those who were in the more physically active group. Lead author, Nicola T. Lautenschlager, MD, of the University of Melbourne, Australia commented, "Unlike medication, which was found to have no significant effect on mild cognitive impairment at 36 months, physical activity has the advantage of health benefits that are not confined to cognitive function alone, as suggested by findings on depression, quality of life, falls, cardiovascular function, and disability." He also noted that, "At 6 months, participants in the physical activity group were walking about 9,000 steps a week more than the usual care group."

A similar study was conducted at the University of Zurich in Switzerland, and published in the August 2006 issue of the scientific journal Stroke. The stroke study was reported on in the September 8, 2008 LA Times. This study was conducted on stroke victims where half of those in that study were given walking exercises on a treadmill while half were only given stretching exercises. These stroke victims were later re-evaluated using functional MRI tests and revealed intensified activity in certain portions of the brain in the walking group, while the stretching group showed no change at all. These researchers commented, "We found that change can not only happen in the superficial layers of the brain, but in the deeper brain levels as well."