Healthy body leads to healthy brain

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LONDON: Exercise is good for your health, say physicians all around the world. It has been proven that active people live longer and stay healthier.

Women who have been active during the teenage years have lower risk for cognitive impairment later in life. This theory is suggested by a new study, made by researchers from Toronto and San Francisco and published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

“People often separate the body and mind, and forget that physical activity is actually controlled by the brain,” said Laura E. Middleton, lead author of the study and a postdoctoral fellow at the Heart and Stroke Foundation Center for Stroke Recovery at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Center in Toronto.

“A large portion of the brain is dedicated toward coordinating and controlling movement”.

Researchers gathered information about 9.344 women 65 and older, participating in a multicenter study of osteoporotic fractures. The main criteria was their physical activity on a regular basis during their teenage years and at ages 30, 50 and later. Their cognitive function was also taken into consideration.

Women with a regular physical activity at any age were at lower risk of impairment later in life. However, women who were physically inactive as teenagers and became active in later years, had lower risk than those who remained inactive. For those who had been active in their teen years, the risk was the lowest, as teenage physical activity was associated with less risk for late-life cognitive impairment.

After taking notice of the differences between the groups and risk factors like diabetes, researchers concluded that physical activity in women during the teenage years is associated with a lower odd of cognitive impairment later in life.

Physical activity is what causes your body to work harder than normal. It describes things that are beyond the daily routine like sitting, standing or walking up stairs. Moderate exercise, such as walking, is good for reducing diabetes in obese and sedentary people, while a more elevated physical activity is recommended for people who want to be and remain in good health.