Latest news with #PhyllisJones
CTV News
21 hours ago
- Health
- CTV News
You can slow cognitive decline as you age, large study finds. Here's how
At 62, Phyllis Jones felt trapped in darkness. She was traumatized by her mother's recent death, ongoing pandemic stress and an increasingly toxic work environment. A sudden panic attack led to a medical leave. Her depression worsened until the day her 33-year-old son sadly told her, 'Mom, I didn't think I would have to be your caregiver at this stage in your life.' 'For me, that was the wake-up call,' Jones, now 66, told CNN. 'That's when I found the POINTER study and my life changed. What I accomplished during the study was phenomenal — I'm a new person.' The Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk, or U.S. POINTER study, is the largest randomized clinical trial in the United States designed to examine whether lifestyle interventions can protect cognitive function in older adults. 'These are cognitively healthy people between the ages of 60 and 79 who, to be in the study, had to be completely sedentary and at risk for dementia due to health issues such as prediabetes and borderline high blood pressure,' said principal investigator Laura Baker, a professor of gerontology, geriatrics and internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Approximately one-half of the 2,111 study participants attended 38 structured team meetings over two years in local neighborhoods near Chicago, Houston, Winston-Salem, Sacramento, California, and Providence, Rhode Island. During each session, a trained facilitator provided guidance on how to exercise and eat for the brain, and explained the importance of socialization, the use of brain-training games, and the basics of brain health. The team leader also held the group accountable for logging blood pressure and other vitals. Physical and cognitive exams by a physician occurred every six months. At six team meetings, the other half of the study's participants learned about brain health and were encouraged to select lifestyle changes that best suited their schedules. This group was self-guided, with no goal-directed coaching. These participants also received physical and cognitive exams every six months. The two-year results of the US$50 million study, funded by the Alzheimer's Association, were simultaneously presented Monday at the 2025 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Toronto and published in the journal JAMA. 'We found people in the structured program appeared to delay normal cognitive aging by one to nearly two years over and above the self-guided group — people who did not receive the same degree of support,' Baker said. 'However, the self-guided group improved their cognitive scores over time as well.' Exercise, diet and socializing are key Exercise was the first challenge. Like the other groups across the country, Jones and her Aurora, Illinois, team received YMCA memberships and lessons on how to use the gym equipment. Jones was told to use aerobic exercise to raise her heart rate for 30 minutes a day while adding strength training and stretching several times a week. At first, it wasn't easy. The study participants wore fitness trackers that monitored their activity, Jones said. 'After that first 10 minutes, I was sweating and exhausted,' she said. 'But we went slow, adding 10 minutes at a time, and we kept each other honest. Now I just love to work out.' Four weeks later, teams were given a new challenge — beginning the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, or MIND diet. The diet combines the best of the Mediterranean diet with the salt restrictions of the DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. 'They gave us a refrigerator chart with foods to limit and foods to enjoy,' Jones said. 'We had to eat berries and vegetables most days, including green leafy veggies, which was a separate item. We had to have 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil once every day.' Foods to limit included fried food, processed meat, dairy, cheese and butter. Restrictions were also in place for sugary sweets. 'But we could have dessert four times a week,' Jones added. 'That's awesome because you're not completely depriving yourself.' Another pillar of the program was requiring study participants to familiarize themselves with their vital signs, Wake Forest's Baker said. 'If at any point we asked them, 'What's your average blood pressure?' they should be able to tell us,' she said. 'We encouraged people to monitor their blood sugar as well.' Later came brain training, via memberships to a popular, Web-based cognitive training app. While some scientists say the benefits of such online brain programs have yet to be proven, Jones said she enjoyed the mental stimulation. Becoming better at socializing was another key part of the program. The researchers tasked teams with assignments, such as speaking to strangers or going out with friends. 'I found my best friend, Patty Kelly, on my team,' Jones said. 'At 81, she's older than me, but we do all sorts of things together — in fact, she's coming with me to Toronto when I speak at the Alzheimer's conference. 'Isolation is horrible for your brain,' she added. 'But once you get to a point where you are moving and eating healthy, your energy level changes, and I think you automatically become more social.' As the study progressed, the researchers reduced check-ins to twice a month, then once a month, Baker said. 'We were trying to get people to say, 'I am now a healthy person,' because if you believe that, you start making decisions which agree with the new perception of yourself,' she said. 'So in the beginning, we were holding their hands, but by the end, they were flying on their own,' Baker added. 'And that was the whole idea — get them to fly on their own.' 'Brain health is a long game' Because researchers tracked each team closely, the study has a wealth of data that has yet to be mined. 'On any given day, I could go into our web-based data system and see how much exercise someone's doing, whether they've logged into brain training that day, what's their latest MIND diet score, and whether they'd attended the last team meeting,' Baker said. 'We also have sleep data, blood biomarkers, brain scans and other variables, which will provide more clarity on which parts of the intervention were most successful.' Digging deeper into the data is important, Baker says, because the study has limitations, such as the potential for a well-known phenomenon called the practice effect. 'Even though we use different stimuli within tests, the act of taking a test over and over makes you more familiar with the situation — you know where the clinic is, where to park, you're more comfortable with your examiner,' she said. 'You're not really smarter, you're just more relaxed and comfortable, so therefore you do better on the test,' Baker said. 'So while we're thrilled both groups in US POINTER appear to have improved their global cognition (thinking, learning and problem-solving), we have to be cautious in our interpretations.' It's important to note the POINTER study was not designed to provide the more immersive lifestyle interventions needed for people with early stages of Alzheimer's, said Dr. Dean Ornish, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Ornish published a June 2024 clinical trial that found a strict vegan diet, daily exercise, structured stress reduction and frequent socialization could often stop the decline or even improve cognition in those already experiencing from early-stage Alzheimer's disease, not just for those at risk for it. 'The US POINTER randomized clinical trial is a landmark study showing that moderate lifestyle changes in diet, exercise, socialization and more can improve cognition in those at risk for dementia,' said Ornish, creator of the Ornish diet and lifestyle medicine program and coauthor of 'Undo It!: How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse Most Chronic Diseases.' 'It complements our randomized clinical trial findings which found that more intensive multiple lifestyle changes often improve cognition in those already diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease,' Ornish said. 'But the US POINTER study showed that more moderate lifestyle changes may be sufficient to help prevent it.' In reality, two years isn't sufficient to track brain changes over time, said study coauthor Maria Carillo, chief science officer of the Alzheimer's Association. 'We really want to make recommendations that are evidence based,' Carillo told CNN. 'That's why we have invested another $40 million in a four-year follow-up, and I believe over 80% of the original participants have joined. 'Brain health is a long game,' she added. 'It's hard to track, but over time, change can be meaningful.' By Sandee LaMotte, CNN
Euronews
21 hours ago
- Health
- Euronews
Want to age well? Get active, challenge your brain, and eat healthy
It's official: Older adults worried about cognitive decline can stay sharper for longer by exercising both their bodies and their brains and eating healthier. That's according to initial results released Monday from a rigorous US study of lifestyle changes in seniors at risk of developing dementia. People following a combination of healthier habits slowed typical age-related cognitive decline — achieving scores on brain tests as if they were a year or two younger, researchers reported in the medical journal JAMA. It's not too late to get started — study participants were in their 60s and 70s — and it doesn't require becoming a pickleball champ or swearing off ice cream. 'It was the first time I felt like I was doing something proactive to protect my brain,' said Phyllis Jones, 66, from the US state of Illinois. She joined the study after caring for her mother with dementia and struggling with her own health problems. It's too soon to know if stalling age-related decline also could reduce the risk of later Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. But Jones and other study participants underwent brain scans and blood tests that researchers now are analysing for clues — such as whether people also saw a reduction in Alzheimer's-related protein buildup. 'We're all on a cognitive ageing clock and anything we can do to slow that clock down, to me, that is a significant benefit,' said Laura Baker of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, who led the study. Doctors have long encouraged physical activity and a healthy diet for brain fitness. Those steps fight high blood pressure and cholesterol, heart disease, and diabetes, factors that increase the risk of dementia. But until now the strongest evidence that specific lifestyle changes later in life could improve how people perform on brain tests came from a study in Finland. How the study worked Half of participants were randomly assigned to group classes for exercise and dietary changes plus brain-challenging homework — with peer support and coaches tracking their progress. They did a half-hour of moderately intense exercise four times a week — plus twice a week, they added 10 to 15 minutes of stretching and 15 to 20 minutes of resistance training. They followed the 'MIND diet' that stresses lots of leafy greens and berries plus whole grains, poultry, and fish. Nothing is banned, but it urges limiting red meat, fried or fast food, and sweets, and substituting olive oil for butter and margarine. They also had to meet someone or try something new weekly and do brain 'exercises' using an online programme called Brain HQ. Other study participants, the control group, received brain-healthy advice and minimal coaching — they chose what steps to follow. Both improved but the group with more support fared significantly better. Combining social engagement with exercise and dietary steps may be key, said Jessica Langbaum of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute, who wasn't involved with the study. 'Americans want to have that one easy thing — 'If I just eat my blueberries,'' Langbaum said. 'There is no one magic bullet. It is a whole lifestyle". How to exercise your body and mind on your own Moderately intense physical activity means raising your heart rate and panting a bit yet still being able to talk, said Wake Forest's Baker. Pick something safe for your physical capability and start slowly, just 10 minutes at a time until you can handle more, she cautioned. Make it something you enjoy so you stick with it. Likewise there are many options for brain exercise, Baker said — puzzles, joining a book club, learning an instrument or a new language. One challenge: How to keep up the good work Researchers will track study participants' health for four more years, and the Alzheimer's Association is preparing to translate the findings into local community programmes. Will people with stick with their new habits? Jones lost 30 pounds, saw her heart health improve and feels sharper, especially when multitasking. But she hadn't realised her diet slipped when study coaching ended until a checkup spotted rising blood sugar. Now she and an 81-year-old friend from the study are helping keep each other on track. The lifestyle change 'did not just affect me physically, it also affected me mentally and emotionally. It brought me to a much better place,' Jones said.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Early results from major clinical trial show healthy lifestyle slows cognitive decline
Phyllis Jones wakes up every morning to work up a sweat in countries all over the world, 'and even sometimes on the moon,' she said, thanks to her favorite workout gadget, a virtual reality headset. Her focus on exercise is light-years away from where Jones, 66, of Aurora, Illinois, was just a few years ago. She had prediabetes, and her cholesterol and blood pressure levels were inching up. She was totally sedentary after falling into deep depression. 'I was in bed. I didn't care at all. I was just spiraling,' Jones said. She was probably also destined to lose her ability to think clearly. Jones' mother and grandmother died of vascular dementia, a condition that occurs when the body can't pump enough blood to the brain. Other family members had the disease, too. 'Watching two generations suffer made me determined to break the cycle for myself,' Jones said. 'I'm not that person anymore.' Four years ago, Jones joined a major clinical trial, called U.S. POINTER, that aimed to figure out how older adults at high risk for dementia can stay healthier longer. Half of the more than 2,000 participants were given advice on a healthy lifestyle, including diet and exercise. The other half was thrust into a structured, team-based program that gave participants goals to transform their lifestyles. The program included meeting with experts and other participants regularly, as well as brain exercises and aerobics classes. Participants were instructed to follow the MIND diet, which trades processed foods for whole grains, fruits, leafy greens and other vegetables. The researchers evaluated cognitive function by measuring memory, the ability to focus while juggling multiple tasks, and how quickly people interpreted and responded to information. After two years, both groups showed progress. But people in the structured group saw greater benefits. 'Our conservative estimate shows that, relative to the self-guided group, the structured group performed at a level comparable to adults who were one to two years younger in age,' said Laura Baker, lead researcher and a gerontology professor at Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Advocate Health in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. 'This is what's giving folks additional resilience against cognitive decline,' she said. Greater support and accountability in the structured group were key benefits. 'We're going to tell you what to do, but we're also going to help you get there, and we're going to work with you as a partner to meet you where you are,' Baker said during a news briefing about the findings Monday at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Toronto. The research, published simultaneously in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is the first large-scale randomized controlled trial to show that organized, sustainable lifestyle interventions can have a measurable impact on brain health. It's an important finding as the nation is on a path to double the number of people living with dementia by 2060. About 10% of Americans over age 65 have been diagnosed with dementia, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nearly 7 million people in the U.S. have Alzheimer's, the most common type of dementia. While some drugs may slow how quickly dementia develops, there is no cure. 'Some people are scared, thinking there's nothing you can do' to ward off dementia, said Dr. Richard Isaacson, a neurologist and researcher at the Institute for Neurodegenerative Diseases in Florida. The new findings, he said, show that 'we're not powerless in the fight against cognitive decline and Alzheimer's disease.' Isaacson, who formerly directed the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell Medical Center, was not involved with the new research. This isn't the only study to link lifestyle to a delay in dementia. Other research presented at the Alzheimer's Association conference Monday found that regular walking can protect the brains of people with a genetic risk for Alzheimer's. The beauty of lifestyle interventions now proven to help keep cognition sharp is that they can be applied universally, said Rachel Wu, an associate professor of psychology who researches cognition in older adults at the University of California, Riverside. 'There's no downside, no side effects to doing this stuff, except just the time it takes,' Wu said. POINTER trial researchers also took blood samples and scanned participants' brains, looking for amyloid and tau, proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease that form plaques and tangles in the brain. Those samples will be included in a future analysis of study participants, said Heather Snyder, a POINTER researcher and senior vice president of medical and scientific relations at the Alzheimer's Association. 'If you have this biology, do you see a better response? Less response?' she said. 'That's the kind of meaningful question we're going to be able to ask with this data.' Additional findings are expected within the year, Snyder said. Jones is eager to see those results when they're available. 'I don't know what they saw in my brain, but I know I'm a different person,' Jones said. She's lost 30 pounds and is no longer considered prediabetic or a candidate for statins to reduce her cholesterol. 'I'm going to keep moving, eating right, socializing, monitoring my comorbidities,' she said. 'I'm going to take care of myself.' This article was originally published on Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
You can slow cognitive decline as you age, large study finds. Here's how
At 62, Phyllis Jones felt trapped in darkness. She was traumatized by her mother's recent death, ongoing pandemic stress and an increasingly toxic work environment. A sudden panic attack led to a medical leave. Her depression worsened until the day her 33-year-old son sadly told her, 'Mom, I didn't think I would have to be your caregiver at this stage in your life.' 'For me, that was the wake-up call,' Jones, now 66, told CNN. 'That's when I found the POINTER study and my life changed. What I accomplished during the study was phenomenal — I'm a new person.' The Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk, or US POINTER study, is the largest randomized clinical trial in the United States designed to examine whether lifestyle interventions can protect cognitive function in older adults. 'These are cognitively healthy people between the ages of 60 and 79 who, to be in the study, had to be completely sedentary and at risk for dementia due to health issues such as prediabetes and borderline high blood pressure,' said principal investigator Laura Baker, a professor of gerontology, geriatrics and internal medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Approximately one-half of the 2,111 study participants attended 38 structured team meetings over two years in local neighborhoods near Chicago, Houston, Winston-Salem, Sacramento, California, and Providence, Rhode Island. During each session, a trained facilitator provided guidance on how to exercise and eat for the brain, and explained the importance of socialization, the use of brain-training games, and the basics of brain health. The team leader also held the group accountable for logging blood pressure and other vitals. Physical and cognitive exams by a physician occurred every six months. At six team meetings, the other half of the study's participants learned about brain health and were encouraged to select lifestyle changes that best suited their schedules. This group was self-guided, with no goal-directed coaching. These participants also received physical and cognitive exams every six months. The two-year results of the $50 million study, funded by the Alzheimer's Association, were simultaneously presented Monday at the 2025 Alzheimer's Association International Conference in Toronto and published in the journal JAMA. 'We found people in the structured program appeared to delay normal cognitive aging by one to nearly two years over and above the self-guided group — people who did not receive the same degree of support,' Baker said. 'However, the self-guided group improved their cognitive scores over time as well.' Exercise, diet and socializing are key Exercise was the first challenge. Like the other groups across the country, Jones and her Aurora, Illinois, team received YMCA memberships and lessons on how to use the gym equipment. Jones was told to use aerobic exercise to raise her heart rate for 30 minutes a day while adding strength training and stretching several times a week. At first, it wasn't easy. The study participants wore fitness trackers that monitored their activity, Jones said. 'After that first 10 minutes, I was sweating and exhausted,' she said. 'But we went slow, adding 10 minutes at a time, and we kept each other honest. Now I just love to work out.' Four weeks later, teams were given a new challenge — beginning the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay, or MIND diet. The diet combines the best of the Mediterranean diet with the salt restrictions of the DASH diet, which stands for Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension. 'They gave us a refrigerator chart with foods to limit and foods to enjoy,' Jones said. 'We had to eat berries and vegetables most days, including green leafy veggies, which was a separate item. We had to have 2 tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil once every day.' Foods to limit included fried food, processed meat, dairy, cheese and butter. Restrictions were also in place for sugary sweets. 'But we could have dessert four times a week,' Jones added. 'That's awesome because you're not completely depriving yourself.' Another pillar of the program was requiring study participants to familiarize themselves with their vital signs, Wake Forest's Baker said. 'If at any point we asked them, 'What's your average blood pressure?' they should be able to tell us,' she said. 'We encouraged people to monitor their blood sugar as well.' Later came brain training, via memberships to a popular, Web-based cognitive training app. While some scientists say the benefits of such online brain programs have yet to be proven, Jones said she enjoyed the mental stimulation. Becoming better at socializing was another key part of the program. The researchers tasked teams with assignments, such as speaking to strangers or going out with friends. 'I found my best friend, Patty Kelly, on my team,' Jones said. 'At 81, she's older than me, but we do all sorts of things together — in fact, she's coming with me to Toronto when I speak at the Alzheimer's conference. 'Isolation is horrible for your brain,' she added. 'But once you get to a point where you are moving and eating healthy, your energy level changes, and I think you automatically become more social.' As the study progressed, the researchers reduced check-ins to twice a month, then once a month, Baker said. 'We were trying to get people to say, 'I am now a healthy person,' because if you believe that, you start making decisions which agree with the new perception of yourself,' she said. 'So in the beginning, we were holding their hands, but by the end, they were flying on their own,' Baker added. 'And that was the whole idea — get them to fly on their own.' 'Brain health is a long game' Because researchers tracked each team closely, the study has a wealth of data that has yet to be mined. 'On any given day, I could go into our web-based data system and see how much exercise someone's doing, whether they've logged into brain training that day, what's their latest MIND diet score, and whether they'd attended the last team meeting,' Baker said. 'We also have sleep data, blood biomarkers, brain scans and other variables, which will provide more clarity on which parts of the intervention were most successful.' Digging deeper into the data is important, Baker says, because the study has limitations, such as the potential for a well-known phenomenon called the practice effect. 'Even though we use different stimuli within tests, the act of taking a test over and over makes you more familiar with the situation — you know where the clinic is, where to park, you're more comfortable with your examiner,' she said. 'You're not really smarter, you're just more relaxed and comfortable, so therefore you do better on the test,' Baker said. 'So while we're thrilled both groups in US POINTER appear to have improved their global cognition (thinking, learning and problem-solving), we have to be cautious in our interpretations.' It's important to note the POINTER study was not designed to provide the more immersive lifestyle interventions needed for people with early stages of Alzheimer's, said Dr. Dean Ornish, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco. Ornish published a June 2024 clinical trial that found a strict vegan diet, daily exercise, structured stress reduction and frequent socialization could often stop the decline or even improve cognition in those already experiencing from early-stage Alzheimer's disease, not just for those at risk for it. 'The US POINTER randomized clinical trial is a landmark study showing that moderate lifestyle changes in diet, exercise, socialization and more can improve cognition in those at risk for dementia,' said Ornish, creator of the Ornish diet and lifestyle medicine program and coauthor of 'Undo It!: How Simple Lifestyle Changes Can Reverse Most Chronic Diseases.' 'It complements our randomized clinical trial findings which found that more intensive multiple lifestyle changes often improve cognition in those already diagnosed with early-stage Alzheimer's disease,' Ornish said. 'But the US POINTER study showed that more moderate lifestyle changes may be sufficient to help prevent it.' In reality, two years isn't sufficient to track brain changes over time, said study coauthor Maria Carillo, chief science officer of the Alzheimer's Association. 'We really want to make recommendations that are evidence based,' Carillo told CNN. 'That's why we have invested another $40 million in a four-year follow-up, and I believe over 80% of the original participants have joined. 'Brain health is a long game,' she added. 'It's hard to track, but over time, change can be meaningful.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Health
- Yahoo
To stay sharper while aging, get active, challenge your brain, and eat healthy
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's official: Older Americans worried about cognitive decline can stay sharper for longer by exercising both their bodies and their brains and eating healthier. That's according to initial results released Monday from a rigorous U.S. study of lifestyle changes in seniors at risk of developing dementia. People following a combination of healthier habits slowed typical age-related cognitive decline — achieving scores on brain tests as if they were a year or two younger, researchers reported in JAMA and at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference. It's not too late to get started -- study participants were in their 60s and 70s -- and it doesn't require becoming a pickleball champ or swearing off ice cream. 'It was the first time I felt like I was doing something proactive to protect my brain,' said Phyllis Jones, 66, of Aurora, Illinois, who joined the study after caring for her mother with dementia and struggling with her own health problems. It's too soon to know if stalling age-related decline also could reduce the risk of later Alzheimer's or other forms of dementia. But Jones and other study participants underwent brain scans and blood tests that researchers now are analyzing for clues – such as whether people also saw a reduction in Alzheimer's-related protein buildup. 'We're all on a cognitive aging clock and anything we can do to slow that clock down, to me, that is a significant benefit,' said Laura Baker of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, who led the study. What's good for the heart is good for the brain Doctors have long encouraged physical activity and a healthy diet for brain fitness. Those steps fight high blood pressure and cholesterol, heart disease and diabetes, factors that increase the risk of dementia. But until now the strongest evidence that specific lifestyle changes later in life could improve how people perform on brain tests came from a study in Finland. Would it work for a more sedentary and culturally diverse U.S. population? With funding from the Alzheimer's Association and the National Institute on Aging, Baker's team tested the strategy for two years in 2,100 adults ages 60 to 79. Here's what study participants had to do Half of participants were randomly assigned to group classes for exercise and dietary changes plus brain-challenging homework – with peer support and coaches tracking their progress. They did a half-hour of moderately intense exercise four times a week -- plus twice a week, they added 10 to 15 minutes of stretching and 15 to 20 minutes of resistance training. They followed the 'MIND diet' that stresses lots of leafy greens and berries plus whole grains, poultry and fish. Nothing is banned but it urges limiting red meat, fried or 'fast food' and sweets, and substituting olive oil for butter and margarine. They also had to meet someone or try something new weekly and do brain 'exercises' using an online program called Brain HQ. Other study participants, the control group, received brain-healthy advice and minimal coaching — they chose what steps to follow. Both improved but the groups fared significantly better. Combining social engagement with exercise and dietary steps may be key, said Jessica Langbaum of the Banner Alzheimer's Institute, who wasn't involved with the study. 'Americans want to have that one easy thing – 'If I just eat my blueberries,'' Langbaum said. 'There is no one magic bullet. It is a whole lifestyle.' How to exercise your body and mind on your own Moderately intense physical activity means raising your heart rate and panting a bit yet still able to talk, said Wake Forest's Baker. Pick something safe for your physical capability and start slowly, just 10 minutes at a time until you can handle more, she cautioned. Make it something you enjoy so you stick with it. Likewise there are many options for brain exercise, Baker said – puzzles, joining a book club, learning an instrument or a new language. Jones, a software engineer-turned-tester, learned she loves blueberry-spinach smoothies. Her favorite exercise uses an at-home virtual reality program that lets her work up a sweat while appearing to be in another country and communicating with other online users. One challenge: How to keep up the good work Researchers will track study participants' health for four more years and the Alzheimer's Association is preparing to translate the findings into local community programs. Will people with stick with their new habits? Jones lost 30 pounds, saw her heart health improve and feels sharper especially when multitasking. But she hadn't realized her diet slipped when study coaching ended until a checkup spotted rising blood sugar. Now she and an 81-year-old friend from the study are helping keep each other on track. The lifestyle change 'did not just affect me physically, it also affected me mentally and emotionally. It brought me to a much better place,' Jones said. —- The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's Department of Science Education and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
