LOS ANGELES, March 9 (Xinhua) — A good diet and exercise not only benefit the body but also can improve thinking, U.S. researchers at Duke University suggest.
The researchers came to the conclusion after analyzing data of 124 men and women with high blood pressure who were 52 and overweight on average.
A third of the participants went about eating and exercising as they usually did. Another third followed the DASH — the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet, which emphasizes low-fat dairy products, fruits and vegetables, in combination with regular exercise. The final third were in a program that combined the DASH diet with a weight-management program and aerobic exercise.
Two strategies were used in the weight-management program: One centered on reducing portion size and changing habits, such as snacking. The other used an approach called appetite awareness training, which provides guidelines on how much to eat, not just what to eat.
To assess the effects on mental function, the participants were asked to do certain paper-and-pencil tests, such as crossing off specific digits on a page of numbers as quickly as possible.
The group that ate well and exercised regularly had an overall 30 percent improvement in mental function by the end of the four- month period, according to the study published by HealthDay News on Tuesday.
And the combination of good eating and exercise also produced the expected physical advances. Diet-and-exercise participants lost an average of 19 pounds and lowered systolic blood pressure ( the higher of the 120/80 reading) by 16 points and diastolic pressure by 10 points by the end of the four-month program.
Physical activity does seem to have a direct effect on brain cells, said Patrick Smith, an intern in clinical neuropsychology who took part in the study. ”There are neurochemical changes that happen with exercise. There is increased production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor, which stimulates connection with other brain cells, but also there is some evidence that it helps grow new brain cells.”
