Targeted physical activity for older adults with mild cognitive impairment and subjective cognitive decline

Tailored guidelines are needed to support strategies for dementia risk reduction

There is now international consensus that physical inactivity can be considered a modifiable risk factor for dementia.1 Research indicates that 6.5% of the attributable risk of dementia in the global population can be ascribed to low levels of physical activity alone,2 and engaging in physical activity is regarded as one of the strongest protective factors to reduce dementia risk.2 Extensive reviews of the evidence have led international health organisations, including the World Health Organization, the British National Institute of Health and Care Excellence and the American National Institutes of Health, to advocate for physical activity as both a primary prevention (in cognitively healthy individuals) and secondary prevention (in individuals who do not have dementia but already experience cognitive decline) strategy for reducing dementia risk.2,3,4 A recent American report further supports that physical activity has many benefits, with some (eg, stroke prevention) causally linked to brain health.3 While the evidence is still inconclusive, physical activity may delay or slow age‐related cognitive decline, and people are recommended to increase physical activity to gain this brain health benefit.3