A US study has shown that people who walk more steps daily tend to achieve better results in tests of attention, concentration, ability to ignore distractions, and decision-making, indicating a link between the level of physical activity and certain cognitive functions.
The ScienceAlert website reported the day before yesterday, citing a study published in the journal Scientific Reports, that researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in the United States analyzed physical activity data and cognitive tests for 3,093 adults, aged 18 to 93, relying on records from Fitbit wearable devices and data from the NIH All of Us research program in the United States, which covered the period between 2009 and 2023.
Categorizing Participants by Activity
The researchers categorized participants into three groups according to their average daily step count, with approximately 5,108 steps for the least active group, 8,875 steps for the moderately active group, and 14,161 steps for the most active group. The results showed that the two more active groups performed better in tests of sustained attention, ignoring distractions, and evaluating immediate and delayed rewards, compared to the least active group.
Influencing Factors and Study Limitations
The results clarified that these differences persisted even after taking several factors into account, including age, education level, income, marital status, and place of birth. However, the improvement in cognitive performance was limited, and the study did not show a clear link between the number of daily steps and the ability to recognize facial expressions.
Conclusions Regarding Lifestyle
The study results suggest a possible link between regular walking and the improvement of certain cognitive abilities, but they do not prove that increasing the number of steps directly leads to this improvement, necessitating further studies to determine the nature of the relationship between physical activity, attention, and decision-making with aging.
The results of such studies emphasize the importance of regular physical activity within a healthy lifestyle, due to its potential benefits for physical and mental health.
Source: Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA)
Comments (0)