Seniors: Walk and Gain Weight … In Your Brain

Walking outdoors in Morton Grove this week is not advised – particularly for the elderly – but a recent study has found that, whether indoors or out, walking is a good idea – particularly for the elderly.

A group of researchers discovered that heart-pumping exercise, such as brisk walking, pumps up the region of the brain that forms, stores and processes memory. This region, the hippocampus, tends to shrink as we age, ultimately leading to memory loss, and potentially dementia.

“We think of the atrophy of the hippocampus in later life as almost inevitable,” said Kirk Erickson, professor of psychology at the University of Pittsburgh and the paper’s lead author, in a statement. “But we’ve shown that even moderate exercise for one year can increase the size of that structure. The brain at that stage remains modifiable.” 

Scientists from the University of Pittsburgh, the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, Ohio State University, and Rice University studied 120 randomly selected adults, 55 to 80 years old (average age 67), by splitting them up into two teams: those who walked for 40 minutes three days a week and those who did only stretching and toning exercise (the control group). Eligible participants were determined to be right-handed, free of dementia and major diseases, and "sedentary," meaning they had not done more than 30 minutes of exercise in the six months preceding the study.

The study, published in February’s Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), showed that by year’s end, the walkers’ brain volume increased by an average of 2 percent, ultimately reversing the effects of age-related volume loss by one to two years. The participants in the control group lost 1.4 percent of their hippocampal volume; however, researchers found that those who started the program with the highest fitness levels lost the least amount of brain mass.   

Both groups improved their spatial memory (the part of memory that records one's environment) and response times, unrelated to increased aerobic exercise; however, again the scientists concluded that higher initial fitness levels led to greater improvements.

Researchers noted that only the front portion of the hippocampus, the anterior hippocampus, was affected by increased exercise.

“This indicates that exercise does not influence all brain regions uniformly," the report reads. "Such selectivity suggests that there are regionally dependent molecular pathways influenced by exercise.” 

Scientists have long understood that brain atrophy leads to memory impairment, the PNAS study is one of the first to add numeric value to the theory. And the proposed treatment doesn’t call for expensive medicines or risky surgery, just a pair of decent sneakers.

Of course, with new research findings come even more questions: Does even more exercise – more than 40 minutes of moderate walking three days a week – create even more brain mass? In this small sample, the participants were healthy. What about people who already have dementia? Can they reclaim pieces of their memory by walking more?

“The idea of exercise benefitting the brain is not new,” said Mary Futrell, director of Life Long Learning at the North Shore Senior Center, which took control of Morton Grove's senior center last spring. “What’s good for the body is good for the brain.”

Futrell said part of her job is keeping up with current aging research to inform programs; many activities are designed to stave off dementia in older adults.

“A person is not just their body,” Futrell said, noting that courses are selected based on projected impact on intellectual, physical, social, emotional, spiritual and vocational health. “Our activities are based on the idea of whole-person wellness.”

Morton Grove NSSC members have several fitness classes to choose from, but the majority – yoga, tai chi and meditation – focus on balance and strength. To get the heart (and brain) pumping, Morton Grove residents can join the NSSC Fitness Center at the Northfield campus at an annual individual rate of $425 ($300 for senior center members). The fitness center offers personal training (extra cost) and walking and biking clubs. 

A walking group could be coming to Morton Grove’s senior center this year, Futrell said. She noted that the center’s location is surrounded by optimal walking areas, such as Harrer Park, Wayside Woods, Prairie View Park, Linne Woods Forest Preserve, Mansfield Park and Austin Park.

“If the interest is there, we’ll definitely do it,” she said.

And speaking of parks,the Morton Grove Park District, which has its own fitness center ($201 annually for residents over age 62), is hosting its annual 5K walk/run on Sunday, April 17.

Start walking more now to prepare for the walk -- and for a future of many memories.