Investigating how different aspects of physical activity are associated with brain health throughout different life stages.

Physical inactivity remains a principal cause of early morbidity and mortality globally [1-3]. The abundance of literature implicating physical inactivity in disease pathways has prompted introduction of physical activity prescribing in the UK to address this problem [4, 5]. Evidence is now mounting as to the positive impacts of physical activity on both cognition and psychological health [6-18]. Interventions have implicated physical activity as a means of reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms [19-23] and improving wellbeing [24-26]. Physical activity engagement has also been linked to the building of cognitive reserve which helps to delay the onset of cognitive decline in later life [9, 10, 14, 27-33], however, evidence regarding the directionality of this association remains under scrutiny [34]. Most evidence in the field is limited, relying on short follow-up windows, or using self-reported measures of physical activity, which limits the use of these findings. Furthermore, the means by which physical activity is accrued is known to be an important factor in moderating any observed psychological and cognitive benefits [26, 35]. Engagement in physical activity also shows significant variation between individuals [18, 36-38] with strong differences seen across the socioeconomic spectrum from an early age with lower engagement associated with childhood and adolescent obesity and possible links to worse lifelong physical and mental health [39-45]. Furthermore all aspects of physical activity including intensity, recreational and sports engagement appear to decrease throughout the life course [18] with significant drops at critical periods, which may therefore have consequences for cognition, mental health and wellbeing later in life [46-51]. Given the varied preferences, frequency, and intensity of physical activity engagement both within and between individuals across the life course, and the mounting evidence as to the consequences of different physical activity types for good brain health, study seeks to contribute to this field by:


i) Investigating the nature and strength of the relationship between regular physical activity engagement and good cognitive and psychological outcomes using both objective and self-reported measures of physical activity across different periods of the life course, utilising the 1970 Birth Cohort [52] & British Regional Heart Study [53].

ii) Exploring the associations of different aspects of physical activity including the varying composition of 24-hour movement patterns on cognitive and psychological outcomes.