Brain health may depend on leg strength of older women, study suggests

A decade-long study has found that a healthy brain in ageing women could be the result of maintaining strong legs. Researchers suggest that the power of legs can be a useful marker that a person is getting enough exercise to maintain a healthy mind.

The findings come from the analysis of 324 twins by a team from the King's College London. The study shows that exercise allows the body to release chemicals that could improve elderly brains.

In the study, published in the journal Gerontology, more than 150 pairs of twin sisters aged 43 to 73 were monitored for their health over 10 years. Result shows that those who have stronger legs at the beginning of the study maintained a better cognition even after a decade, with fewer changes in the brain linked with ageing.

The participants also maintained a good brain condition even when researchers included other lifestyle and health risk factors of dementia for the analysis.

"When it came to cognitive ageing, leg strength was the strongest factor that had an impact in our study,” said lead researcher Dr Claire Steves, senior lecturer in Twin Research at King’s College London and King’s College Hospital, in a press release.

For the study, researchers measured the leg power of participants, including speed and power of leg extension, using modified gym equipment. Brain power was analysed through computerised tasks, which tested the participants’ memory and mental processing skills.

Researchers noted that there could be other lifestyle factors that potentially help leg strength to improve brain health. "Other factors such as heart health were also important, but the link with leg strength remained even after we accounted for these,” Steves said.

The study supports the growing evidence that physical activity could significantly help the brain and the body, according to Dr Doug Brown, director of research at the Alzheimer's Society, in a report from the BBC. However, researchers said that more studies are needed to better understand the link between fitness measures like leg power and brain changes, and to see the specific cause-and-effect of physical activity on brain structure and cognition.

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