It’s official: older people worried about cognitive decline can stay sharper for longer by exercising both their bodies and their brains and eating healthily.

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That’s according to initial results released on 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 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.

Phyllis Jones is one of the participants in a US study of lifestyle changes in seniors at risk of developing dementia. Photo: courtesy of Phyllis Jones via AP

It’s too soon to know if stalling age-related decline could also 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 are now analysing for clues – such as whether people also saw a reduction in Alzheimer’s-related protein build-up.