Walking exercise and cognitive functions in community-dwelling older adults: Preliminary results of a randomized controlled trial

摘要

The number of epidemiological studies reporting that physical activity (e.g., walking, jogging, yoga, aerobic exercise, strength training) may reduce the risk of cognitive decline in older adults has increased recently. Among the activities, walking exercise is widely adopted as an intervention program to prevent mental decline in many municipalities. However, it is not well known whether these exercise interventions were found to have robust benefits for cognition in older adults. We conducted a pilot study of a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of 20-week walking exercise intervention in maintaining and/or improving cognitive function in community-dwelling older adults and to determine what types of cognitive domains are more susceptible to the intervention.