A 20-year study discovered that those who lived relatively static lifestyles coupled with lower fitness levels aged 40 experienced a higher amount of brain shrinkage when they were 70 compared to those that were physically fit.
Even though the shrinkage was only small, it actually was enough to increase the potential risk of dementia and memory loss.
Using information from the Framingham Heart Study, an on-going program following the lives of thousands of ordinary people over the course of nearly 70 years, scientists discovered the fitness levels of 1,100 adults aged 40.
Participants had gone through a treadmill test after that an MRI scan when they were 40 years old. At that time, they had no the signs of heart disease or dementia.
20 years later, the participants did exactly the same test.
The study discovered that those that were in worse physical condition had higher blood pressure or a greater increase in heart rate during the tests they did in their forties. While, those who were physically fit did not.
Many years later, participants who hardly exercised were also found to have greater brain shrinkage – known as atrophy – than those who exercised.
Nicole Spartano, lead researcher and a postdoctoral fellow at Boston University School of Medicine, told Live Science: “If you think about each of these factors having an effect on your brain health, then the effects can really start to add up.
“The effect was not huge, but was still seen after the researchers adjusted for other factors that may affect brain health, such as high blood pressure, smoking and diabetes.”
The research was published in the journal Neurology.
It isn’t the first piece of research to point out a link between physical fitness and an ageing brain.
In 2012, researchers from the Center for Development of Advanced Medicine for Dementia in Japan found that adults who moved more during the day were less likely to experience progression of frontal lobe atrophy, which is the shrinking of the frontal lobe region of the brain.
This part of the brain plays a part in emotions, problem-solving, memory, judgement and personality.
Researchers concluded: “Incorporating physical activity into your daily routine can be a helpful step to prevent conditions caused by brain atrophy, such as dementia.”