For optimal health, adults of all ages should engage in at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity physical exercise or at least 75 minutes of vigorous intensity physical exercise each week, or an equivalent combination of both. Findings from a new study show that engaging in moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise in middle age improves cerebrovascular health later in life.

The study involved an ethnically and racially diverse group of more than 1,600 adults (average age, 54 years). The authors of the study assessed the participants' moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise levels based on interviews at the beginning of the study (when they were in middle age) and 25 years later. They classified the participants' exercise levels as none, low, middle, or high. The participants underwent magnetic resonance imaging studies to assess cerebrovascular health and measure white and gray matter volumes.

Roughly one-third (39 percent) of the participants were classified as having moderate-to-vigorous intensity exercise levels during mid-life, and one-third (34 percent) were classified as having low levels. Those who had high exercise levels (about two-and-a-half hours per week) had greater intact white matter volume but not gray matter in late-life. Those who exercised more were 32 percent less likely to have experienced a lacunar infarct (a type of stroke) compared to those who engaged in no exercise.

These findings suggest that exercise in middle age throughout older age is protective for the brain and underscore public health messaging for people of all ages to engage in more physical activity.

• Link to study abstract.