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Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Getting the latest healthcare news for you
Keeping up physical activity over the long haul pays off for your brain. A large prospective study found that adults with the highest sustained activity levels had a 28% lower risk of dementia compared to the least active group. Walking, vigorous exercise, and even weightlifting were all linked to better cognitive outcomes over up to 37 years of follow-up.
A major new study published in The Lancet Public Health offers some of the strongest evidence yet that staying physically active across adulthood can meaningfully reduce the risk of dementia. Researchers tracked over 100,000 U.S. adults from the Nurses' Health Study and the Health Professionals Follow-Up Study for up to 37 years, repeatedly measuring their physical activity levels every 2–4 years starting in 1986.
The findings were consistent across multiple activity types — walking, vigorous aerobic exercise, and weightlifting all showed protective effects. Participants who were most active also reported fewer subjective cognitive complaints and performed better on objective cognitive tests.
Why it matters: With dementia cases rising globally and no cure in sight, identifying modifiable lifestyle factors is critical. This study's decades-long follow-up strengthens the case for physical activity as a key pillar of brain health — and suggests it's never too early to get moving.
