The impact of physical activity on the cognitive fitness of the elderly – a review

Abstract

Introduction and aim. The issues of humans’ ageing are more and more frequently addressed in the relevant literature. Most commonly, people follow three ageing trajectories: a normal one, disease-affected one, and a healthy one. The purpose of this article is to present a relationship between physical activity and occurrence of cognitive function impairment in the elderly. Material and methods. This paper is a narrative review. Based on a literature search, various forms of physical activity are presented, as well as the effects of physical activity on mitigation of cognitive disorders in the elderly. The following databases were used: Web of Science, PubMed, Google Scholar. Analysis of the literature. One of the most important factors that promote healthy ageing is regular physical activity. Many studies and publications have addressed this issue. The relationships between physical activity and cognitive fitness have been less studied. Conclusion. The results of the studies presented in this article may form the basis for more in-depth analyses and, in a longterm perspective, for the development of optimal preventive and therapeutic strategies using broadly understood physical activity to maintain cognitive fitness of the elderly.