WASHINGTON, D.C.: A study finds older adults who take more steps walking or jogging perform better on memory tasks than those who are more sedentary.
Researchers followed 29 young adults (ages 18-31) and 31 older adults (ages 55-82). Each participant wore a small device called an ActiGraph, a device that records information including how many steps each took, how vigorous the steps were and how much time it involved.
Participants also completed neuropsychological testing to assess their memory, planning and problem-solving abilities. In addition to standardized neuropsychological tasks of executive function (planning and organization abilities) and long-term memory, participants engaged in a laboratory task in which they had to learn face-name associations.
The researchers found that older adults who took more steps per day had better memory performance…..