Based on a new series of experiments, scientists now believe the slower a person’s tendency to walk, the less able their brain.

Researchers performed gait-speed analysis on hundreds of middle-aged people, comparing the results with a range of physical and psychological measures.

Doctors have long used walking speed to gain a quick and reliable insight into older people’s cognitive capability, as it is increasingly recognized that gait is associated with not only musculoskeletal mechanisms but also the central nervous system.

Until now, however, no one knew it could signify underlying brain health so much earlier in life.

The correlation was so stark, however, that the U.S. scientists now say walking tests could be used to provide an early indication of dementia.

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study revealed an average difference of 16 IQ points between the slowest and the fastest walkers at the age of 45.

This reflected both the participants’ natural walking speed and the pace they achieved when asked to walk as fast as they could.

Those with a slower gait also scored less well in both physical exercises, such as hand-grip strength and visual-motor coordination tests, as well as biological markers of poor health.

In the study, slower walkers were shown to have “accelerated aging” on a 19-measure scale devised by researchers, and their lungs, teeth and immune systems tended to be in worse shape than the people who walked faster.

The team at Duke University in North Carolina said genetic factors may explain the link between walking speed, brain capacity and physiological health, or that better brain health might promote physical activity, leading to better walking speed.

“The thing that’s really striking is that this is in 45-year-old people, not the geriatric patients who are usually assessed with such measures,” said Line Rasmussen, who led the research.

Long-term data collected in New Zealand enabled researchers to establish that toddlers with lower IQ scores, linguistic ability, capacity to tolerate frustration, motor skills and emotional control tended to have slower gait-speeds by middle age.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【步态】bùtài gait a manner of walking or moving on foot

【老年的】lǎonián de geriatric of or relating to a branch of medicine that deals with the problems and diseases of old age

根据一系列新的实验，科学家们现在认为一个人走路的速度越慢，大脑就越迟钝。

研究人员对数百名中年人进行了步速分析，并将结果与一系列生理和心理标准相比较。

长期以来，医生们一直利用步速对老年人的认知能力进行快速可靠的了解，因为人们越来越认识到，步态不仅与肌肉骨骼机制有关，还与中枢神经系统有关。

然而，直到现在，没有人知道步速可能在生命的早期就预示大脑的潜在健康状况。

美国科学家现在认为，这种关联非常明显，步行测试可以提供有关痴呆症的早期迹象。

发表在《美国医学会杂志》上的这项研究表明，45岁时，走路最慢和最快的人之间平均相差16个智商值。这既反映了参与者的自然行走速度，也反映了他们在被要求尽快行走时的速度。

步速慢的人在两项体育锻炼中的得分也都较低，比如手握力和视觉动作协调测试，此外还有健康状况不佳的生理迹象。

在这项研究中，研究人员设计了19项测试标准。研究发现，走路更慢的人“衰老加速”，而且他们的肺部、牙齿和免疫系统往往比走得更快的人更差。

北卡罗来纳州杜克大学的这个研究小组说，遗传因素或可以解释走路速度、大脑能力和生理健康之间的联系，或者更好的大脑健康状况可能会促进身体活动，从而提高走路速度。

研究负责人莱恩▪拉斯穆森说：“真正引人注目的是这种现象出现在45岁的人身上，而不是经常以此衡量身体状况的老年患者身上。”

研究人员通过分析从新西兰长期收集的数据发现，智商、语言能力、抗挫能力、运动技能和情绪控制能力都较低的幼儿，到了中年时的走路速度往往较慢。

(chinadaily.com.cn)