The brains and bodies of identical twins were compared over ten years.
Stronger leg muscles are linked to better brain ageing, a new study finds. It’s the first time a connection has been found between power in the lower limbs and healthy ageing in normal people.
The
study suggests that increasing levels of simple exercises like walking
or even standing for longer may lead to healthy cognitive ageing.
The study followed 324 identical female twins over a ten-year period.
Fitness and lifestyle habits were measured by researchers.
They also gave the twins tests of memory, learning and thinking at the start and end of the study.
Genetic factors were controlled for because identical twins have identical genes.
Leg power was the best predictor of healthy cognitive ageing out of all the factors the researchers measured.
In
general, the twin which had the strongest leg power at the start of the
study maintained stronger mental abilities ten years later.
The twin with stronger legs also maintained the most amount of grey matter in the brain.
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