NEW YORK: Healthy eating, exercise, brain-training and health management can slow down mental decline in older people, according to a Finnish study.
Scientists studied 1,260 Finns aged 60 to 77, all of whom were considered to be at risk of dementia.
Standard mental functioning tests at the end of two years showed that participants randomly allocated to the program had 25 per cent better test scores than those receiving regular health advice.
For some tests, differences between groups were more striking.
For executive functioning – the brain’s ability to organize and regulate thought processes – scores were 83 per cent higher in the program group and for processing speed 150 per cent higher.
Lead researcher Professor Miia Kivipelto, from the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, said previous research had shown links between cognitive decline in older people and factors such as diet, heart health, and fitness…