< office and desk-based jobs are known risk factors for major health conditions,>

 

 

People who add jobs that need less physical activity – typically office and desk-based jobs – are at a lower

risk of subsequent poor cognition than those whose work is

more physically active, suggests new research from the University of Cambridge.

The often used mantra ‘what is sweet for the guts , is sweet for the brain’ makes complete sense, but the

evidence on what we'd like to try to to as individuals are often confusing Shabina Hayat

However, evidence on whether physical activity actually protects against cognitive decline has often been

mixed and inconclusive. Researchers at the University of Cambridge examined patterns of physical

activity among 8,500 men and ladies who were aged 40-79 years old at the beginning of the study and

who had a good range of socioeconomic backgrounds and academic attainment. The individuals were all

a part of the EPIC-Norfolk Cohort. especially , the team were ready to separate physical activity during

work and leisure to ascertain if these had different associations with later life cognition. “The often used

mantra ‘what is sweet for the guts , is sweet for the brain’ makes complete sense, but the evidence on

what we'd like to try to to as individuals are often confusing,” said Shabina Hayat from the Department of

Public Health and first Care at the University of Cambridge. “With our large cohort of volunteers, we were

ready to explore the connection between differing types of physical activity during a sort of settings.”

 

 Among their findings, published today within the International Journal of Epidemiology, the researchers

report: Individuals with no qualifications were more likely to possess physically active jobs, but less likely

to be physically active outside of labor . A physically inactive job (typically a desk-job), is related to lower

risk of poor cognition, regardless of the extent of education. those that remained during this sort of work

throughout the study period were the foremost likely to be within the top 10% of performers. Those in

manual work had almost 3 times increased risk of poor cognition than those with an inactive job. “Our

analysis shows that the connection between physical activity and cognitive isn't straightforward,”

explained Hayat. “While regular physical activity has considerable benefits for cover against many

chronic diseases, other factors may influence its effect on future poor cognition. “People who have less

active jobs – typically office-based, desk jobs – performed better at cognitive tests no matter their

education. this means that because desk jobs tend to be more mentally challenging than manual

occupations, they'll offer protection against cognitive decline.” It was impossible to mention conclusively

that physical activity in leisure and desk-based work offer protection against cognitive decline. The

researchers say that to answer this question, further studies are going to be required to incorporate a

more detailed exploration of the connection of physical activity with cognition, particularly on inequalities

across socio-economic groups and therefore the impact of lower education. The research was supported

by the Medical Research Council, Cancer Research UK and therefore the National Institute for Health

Research.