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Cognitive and Neural Correlates of Aerobic Fitness in Obese Older Adults

Year: 2012

Type: article

Abstract: UNLABELLED: BacKGROUND/STUDY CONTEXT: Aerobic fitness is associated with preserved cognition and brain volume in older adulthood. The current study investigated whether the benefits of aerobic fitness extend to obese older adults, a segment of the population that is rapidly growing and who exhibit compromised cognition and brain structure relative to their nonobese counterparts. METHODS: Measures of obesity, aerobic fitness, cognition (processing speed, executive function, spatial ability, memory), and regional brain volumes (prefrontal gray, prefrontal white, hippocampus) were obtained from 19 obese older adults aged 65 to 75. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to examine the proportion of unique variance in cognitive and volumetric measures accounted for by aerobic fitness after controlling for covariates (age, gender, and waist circumference). RESULTS: Aerobic fitness accounted for a significant amount of unique variance in processing speed (adjusted R (2) = .44), executive function (adjusted R (2) = .34), and hippocampal volume (adjusted R (2) = .27). CONCLUSION: This novel pattern of results suggests that obesity does not preclude the benefits of fitness for cognition and brain volume in older adults. Fitness appears to be a beneficial factor for maintenance of processing speed, executive function, and hippocampal volume, which are vulnerable to age- and/or obesity-related decline.

Source: Experimental Aging Research

DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2012.659995

Authors: Julie M. Bugg, Krupa Shah, Dennis T. Villareal, Denise Head

Institutions: Washington University in St. Louis, University of Rochester Medicine

Language: English

Topic: Physical Activity and Health

Subfield: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: green