Daily exercise, diet and puzzles can markedly improve the brainpower of older people at risk of dementia, the first gold-standard trial has showed.
Older people who ate healthily and went to the gym over two years scored 25 per cent higher on cognitive tests than a control group and were twice as good at some mental tasks.
Researchers said the findings provided encouragement that older people could reduce their risk of the disease.
About 850,000 people in Britain have dementia, and a series of observational studies have suggested that exercising and eating fruit and vegetables can protect the brain as well as the heart. However, today’s study, published in The Lancet, is the first time this has been tested in a clinical trial.
Finnish researchers took 2,654 normal people aged 60-77 thought to be at risk of dementia because of factors such as weight and blood pressure. Half were given an exercise programme involving two gym sessions and three of running or swimming a week as well as help on cutting down on fat, sugar and salt and computer-based, brain-training puzzles.
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The control group was given health advice and after two years, there was a clear difference in mental abilities between the two. The study will now continue to see if there are differences in dementia rates.
Miia Kivipelto of the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, who led the research, said: “Previous research has shown there are links between cognitive decline in older people and factors such as diet, heart health and fitness. However, our study is the first large randomised controlled trial to show that an intensive programme aimed at addressing these risk factors might be able to prevent cognitive decline in elderly people at risk of dementia.”
She said it was unclear whether the diet, exercise or brain training made the difference, but advised people to “try to find an activity that is both physically, mentally and socially active, such as dance”.
Doug Brown, director of research and development at the Alzheimer’s Society said: “The message that you can preserve brain health through healthy living, exercise and keeping mentally active is a very positive one.
“As shown in this trial, giving people a helping hand with their health in later life has a significant impact on brain functions including attention and thought-processing speed. However, we need to learn more about how these choices can protect the brain in the longer term before we know for sure how they can ward off dementia.”