Early Fitness May Help Keep Brain Agile

Physically fit young adults may have more nimble brains later on, a new study suggests. The study included 2,700 men and women. They were 18 to 30 years old when the study began. They were given treadmill tests that involved walking or running as the speed and incline of the treadmill increased. On average, people lasted about 10 minutes before they had to stop. Then they took the same test 20 years later. On average, time on the treadmill decreased by just under 3 minutes. About 25 years after the first treadmill test, people were given tests of memory and mental reaction time. People who performed better on the first treadmill tests also did better on these memory and thinking tests. There were also “trick questions.” An example might be asking the color of the word “yellow,” which was written in green (correct answer: “green”).