We have always been told that a healthy life entails a healthy mind and a healthy body. ‘Mens sana in corpore sano’ is a widely used Latin phrase that emphasizes the connection between a rational mind and a fit body.

Recently a research was conducted in South Korea that analyzed the effects of an active lifestyle on the cognitive abilities in one hundred and seventy-three patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease. It has been claimed that Parkinson’s disease patients with APOE e4 gene variant are more likely to suffer from a faster decline in cognitive abilities and are more likely to be exposed to the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. The study conducted dopamine transporter imaging in the second and fourth year of the enrollment and used Montreal Cognitive Assessment to measure the score of cognitive ability. It was concluded that an increase in physical exercises reduced APOE e4 variant related cognitive decline in the patients with Parkinson’s disease.

In another research that was conducted in Sweden , the connection between cognitive functions and body fitness was studied. The study analyzed the conscription exams from 1968 to 2005 of about one million Swedish men. And then health details of about 42 years of these males were studied. Cox proportional hazards model was used to identify any risk of dementia and cognitive decline connecting the data from hospital registries and health details gathered during conscription exams. It concluded that less physical activity during young age can contribute to the possible risk of future cognitive impairments.