Cochrane: Aerobic
exercise is beneficial for healthy ageing. It has been suggested that
the increased fitness brought about by aerobic exercise may help to
maintain good cognitive function in older age. We looked for randomised
controlled trials of aerobic exercise programmes for people over the age
of 55 years, without pre-existing cognitive problems, which measured
effects on both fitness and cognition. The aerobic exercise programmes
could be compared with no
intervention
(e.g. being on a waiting list for the exercise group) or with other
kinds of activity (including non-aerobic exercises such as strength or
balance exercises, or social activities).
In this Cochrane Review, 12 trials including 754 participants met our
inclusion criteria. Eight of the 12 trials reported that the aerobic
exercise interventions resulted in increased fitness of the trained
group. However, when we combined results across the trials, we did not
find any significant benefits of aerobic exercise or increased fitness
on any aspect of cognition. Many included trials had problems with their
methods or reporting which reduced our confidence in the findings.
We did not find evidence that aerobic exercise or increased fitness
improves cognitive function in older people. However, it remains
possible that it may be helpful for particular subgroups of people, or
that more intense exercise programmes could be beneficial. Therefore
further
research in this area is necessary.
We found no evidence in the available
data from
RCTs
that aerobic physical activities, including those which successfully
improve cardiorespiratory fitness, have any cognitive benefit in
cognitively healthy older adults. Larger studies examining possible
moderators are needed to confirm whether or not aerobic training
improves cognition.
