582
Views
32
CrossRef citations to date
0
Altmetric
Original Articles

Cardiorespiratory Fitness as a Predictor of Successful Cognitive Ageing

&
Pages 949-967 | Published online: 16 Feb 2007
 

Abstract

This study examined whether cardiorespiratory fitness influences cognitive ageing and whether this influence is domain specific. A cross-sectional design comprising 25 young (18–30 years), 25 young-old (65–74 years), 25 middle-old (75–84 years) and 25 old-old adults (85–92 years) compared the relationship between cardiorespiratory fitness (VO2max) and measures of processing resources (attention, working memory, speed) and higher-order cognitive functions (executive function, memory). Fitness was a strong predictor of cognition and accounted for more variance in processing resources than in higher-order functions. This suggests that cardiorespiratory fitness may have a selective protective effect against age-associated cognitive decline.

We gratefully acknowledge the participation of all of the men and women who volunteered for this study. This research was funded by a RM Gibson Scientific Research Fund grant from the Australian Association of Gerontology.

Notes

We gratefully acknowledge the participation of all of the men and women who volunteered for this study. This research was funded by a RM Gibson Scientific Research Fund grant from the Australian Association of Gerontology.

aSignificant age group difference.

1A lower score indicates higher performance *p < .05. **p < .01 ***p < .001. Means with common subscripts are not significantly different based on p < .05.

*p < .05.

**p < .01.

***p < .001.

*p < .05.

**p < .01

***p < .001.

Hardbarger, V.D. (2002). Predicting working memory scores with current physical activity levels by gender and age. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Arkansas, United States.

Reprints and Corporate Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

To request a reprint or corporate permissions for this article, please click on the relevant link below:

Academic Permissions

Please note: Selecting permissions does not provide access to the full text of the article, please see our help page How do I view content?

Obtain permissions instantly via Rightslink by clicking on the button below:

If you are unable to obtain permissions via Rightslink, please complete and submit this Permissions form. For more information, please visit our Permissions help page.