Physical activity sharpens older people’s mind

When it comes to having a sharp mind, exercise plays a big role.

“At the end of the day, the two together – physical activity and cognitive training – gave us an additional benefit,” said Martins, who directs the Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease Research and Care at Edith Cowan University in Perth, Australia.

Martins and his colleagues studied 172 people from ages 60 to 85 years, assigning them randomly into four groups. He found that:

• For smoking couples, only eight percent of men whose partners kept smoking were able to quit. But when partners also gave up smoking, 48 percent of men were successful in their own attempt. The numbers were similar for female smokers.
• Almost 70 percent of men increased their physical activity levels when their partners joined them, compared to 26 percent of men whose partners did not.
• For weight loss, 15 percent of women managed to lose at least 5 percent of their body weight while their partner did not lose weight, but 36 percent lost their weight if their partners did too.

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Category: Features, Wellness and Complementary Therapies