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Project

Healthy and active aging: effects of a cognitively enriched walking intervention on cognitive function in older adults and the role of expectations regarding aging for health behaviors

This PhD will contribute to the understanding of healthy and active aging, all the more important given the increasing number of older adults in the population. Dementia currently affects more than 47 million people worldwide, is forecasted to triple by 2050 and has been reported to be one of the most costly disorders in Belgium.

There is good scientific evidence that the cognitive impairments associated with the development of dementia can be lessened or even reversed because of the plasticity of the brain (rewiring). Recent research has shown that physical activity combined with performing cognitively challenging tasks is a very potent way to induce this rewiring of the brain that can enable people to improve cognitive functions. Yet, so far, these studies are mainly limited to controlled laboratory conditions. In this project, we will translate this laboratory-based evidence into a real-life, low-cost intervention that is easily accessible and tailored to the needs of the aging population and evaluate the effectiveness of this newly developed intervention.

In this research project, we will conduct a pilot trial to gain insights on the feasibility of the cognitively enriched walking program (also referred to as “Brain Walks”) for older adults and for coaches supervising the walks. This program was developed by our research group in collaboration with older adults, health professionals and scientists. In my PhD, we will finalize the intervention based on the results of a mixed-method pilot study. Following this, we will examine the added value of enriching physical activity with cognitive tasks in improving cognition of older adults by conducting a nine-month community-based randomized controlled trial. We will also examine the longer term effectiveness in a follow-up study six months after the program.

A disadvantage of (real-life) intervention studies, however, is that only the people who participate can experience the benefits. Furthermore, people also decide for themselves whether or not to engage in certain healthy behaviors, such as physical activity. As such, despite the proven benefits for cognitive, physical and mental health, only 27.5% of adults worldwide engage in the minimum WHO recommended amount of physical (aerobic) activity for health benefits (i.e. PA guidelines), and it is known that prevalence of insufficient physical activity (i.e. not meeting PA guidelines) increases with age.

One important factor that may influence whether or not older adults engage in health promoting behavior are their ‘expectations regarding aging (ERA)’, the beliefs people hold as to how well they will age physically and cognitively. Research has shown that low ERA were associated with poorer general, physical, mental and cognitive health and lower engagement in health promoting behaviors. Moreover, researchers have proposed a bi-directional relationship between ERA and health. In this project, we will address this topic by providing an updated synthesis of the existing research on ERA and the association with health behaviors in older adults. Furthermore, we will include ERA as a secondary outcome measure for the cognitively enriched walking program RCT and follow-up study. This way, we aim to develop a better understanding of the influence of an exercise intervention and a combined intervention targeting both physical and cognitive activity on the ERA of older adults.

Date:1 Sep 2021 →  Today
Keywords:cognition, neuroplasticity, cognitively enriched physical activity
Disciplines:Neuropsychology of aging, Cognitive aging, Biogerontology, Sports sciences, Cognitive neuroscience, Health psychology, Neuropsychology, Preventive medicine
Project type:PhD project