Increasing physical activity between the ages of 45 and 65 could help prevent Alzheimer’s disease, according to new research published in the journal Alzheimer’s & Dementia.
The study warns that inactivity during midlife could be harmful to brain health and highlights the need to promote exercise among middle-aged adults.
Alzheimer’s disease is the most common form of dementia, and physical inactivity is believed to account for around 13% of cases worldwide.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends adults get 150–300 minutes of moderate activity or 75–150 minutes of vigorous activity each week.
While previous research has shown that exercise benefits cardiovascular and mental health, recent studies suggest it may also directly slow the brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s.
The study, led by researchers at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) and the Barcelonaβeta Brain Research Center (BBRC), followed 337 middle-aged adults in Catalonia who had a family history of Alzheimer’s.
Over four years, researchers tracked participants’ physical activity through questionnaires and measured brain changes using neuroimaging tests. Participants were divided into three groups: adherent (meeting WHO recommendations), non-adherent (doing less than recommended), and sedentary (no activity).
One of the earliest brain changes in Alzheimer’s is the build-up of beta-amyloid (Aβ) protein, which disrupts nerve communication.
Participants who increased their physical activity to meet WHO guidelines had lower beta-amyloid levels than those who stayed sedentary or reduced activity. The effect was dose-dependent—greater increases in activity led to greater reductions in amyloid build-up.
Exercise was also linked to greater cortical thickness in brain areas vulnerable to Alzheimer’s. This is important because the medial temporal cortex plays a key role in memory, and thinning in this area is an early sign of neurodegeneration.
Even participants who did less activity than recommended still had thicker cortex measurements than completely sedentary people, showing that any amount of exercise can be beneficial.
The researchers found that benefits were tied to increasing physical activity over time rather than simply meeting a specific threshold. “These findings reinforce the importance of promoting physical activity in middle age as a public health strategy for Alzheimer’s prevention,” said lead investigator Eider Arenaza-Urquijo.
The study suggests that programs encouraging people to become more active during midlife—especially those at risk of Alzheimer’s—could be an important tool for reducing future cases of the disease.
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