HHS HealthBeat (February 23, 2007)

Bigger older brains

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I'm Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Exercise doesn't just help older folks hold onto muscle – it seems to build bigger brains.

Arthur Kramer of the Beckman Institute at the University of Illinois, Urbana looked into that by doing brain scans of people ages 60 to 79, who took up walking at a modest pace for six months. His study in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Kramer found the brain's white matter and gray matter grew larger, notably in parts of the brain associated with thinking and remembering.

Now, Kramer's study didn't see if the changes in brain size led to better thinking. But he says other studies have indicated that older exercisers are better thinkers.

"Research suggests – an increasing body of research – that exercise can be useful for maintaining a healthy mind." (7 seconds)

Learn more at www.hhs.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I'm Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: February, 23 2007