RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Personalising exercise recommendations for brain health: considerations and future directions
JF British Journal of Sports Medicine
JO Br J Sports Med
FD BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and British Association of Sport and Exercise Medicine
SP 636
OP 639
DO 10.1136/bjsports-2016-096710
VO 51
IS 8
A1 Cindy K Barha
A1 Liisa A Galea
A1 Lindsay S Nagamatsu
A1 Kirk I Erickson
A1 Teresa Liu-Ambrose
YR 2017
UL http://bjsm.bmj.com/content/51/8/636.abstract
AB The societal value of strategies that delay the onset and progression of dementia cannot be overstated. Physical activity—unstructured and structured—is a promising, cost-effective strategy for the promotion of brain health. However, a large degree of variation exists in its efficacy. Therefore, to increase its utility as ‘medication’ for healthy cognitive ageing, it is imperative to identify key moderators and mediators of the positive effects of targeted exercise training on brain health. In this commentary, we focus on the type of targeted exercise training, the determinants of individual variation, including biological sex and genotypic factors, and the mechanisms by which exercise exerts its influence on the brain. We argue that a better understanding of these factors will allow for evidence-based, personalised, tailored exercise recommendations that go beyond the one-size-fits-all approach to successfully combat dementia.