title: Improvements to executive function during exercise training predict maintenance of physical activity over the following year.
abstract: Previous studies have shown that exercise training benefits cognitive, neural, and physical health markers in older adults. It is likely that these positive effects will diminish if participants return to sedentary lifestyles following training cessation. Theory posits that that the neurocognitive processes underlying self-regulation, namely executive function (EF), are important to maintaining positive health behaviors. Therefore, we examined whether better EF performance in older women would predict greater adherence to routine physical activity (PA) over 1 year following a 12-month resistance exercise training randomized controlled trial. The study sample consisted of 125 community-dwelling women aged 65-75 years old. Our primary outcome measure was self-reported PA, as measured by the Physical Activity Scale for the Elderly (PASE), assessed on a monthly basis from month 13 to month 25. Executive function was assessed using the Stroop Test at baseline (month 0) and post-training (month 12). Latent growth curve analyses showed that, on average, PA decreased during the follow-up period but at a decelerating rate. Women who made greater improvements to EF during the training period showed better adherence to PA during the 1-year follow-up period (β = -0.36, p < 0.05); this association was unmitigated by the addition of covariates (β = -0.44, p < 0.05). As expected, EF did not predict changes in PA during the training period (p > 0.10). Overall, these findings suggest that improving EF plays an important role in whether older women maintain higher levels of PA following exercise training and that this association is only apparent after training when environmental support for PA is low.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada ; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada ; Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Best
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada ; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada ; Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada ; Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Lindsay S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Nagamatsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Therapy, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada ; Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada ; Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada ; Brain Research Centre, University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liu-Ambrose
keywords: aging; executive function; exercise training; physical activity adherence; temporal self-regulation theory