走路的速度越慢，大腦就越遲鈍

Of all human activities, few are so readily credited with enhancing the power of the mind as going for a good walk.

在人類的所有活動中，很少有什么活動能像散步一樣被認定為可以增強思維能力。

However, those who assume that strolling along at a gentle pace is the hallmark of superior intellect should think again, scientists have said.

然而，科學家們說，認為緩步行走是智力超群標志的人們應該三思。

In fact, based on a new series of experiments, they now believe the slower a person’s tendency to walk, the less able their brain.

事實上，根據(jù)一系列新的實驗，科學家們現(xiàn)在認為一個人走路的速度越慢，大腦就越遲鈍。

Researchers performed gait-speed analysis on hundreds of middle-aged people, comparing the results with a range of physical and psychological measures.

研究人員對數(shù)百名中年人進行了步速分析，并將結果與一系列生理和心理標準相比較。

Doctors have long used walking speed to gain a quick and reliable insight into older people’s cognitive capability, as it is increasingly recognized that gait is associated with not only musculoskeletal mechanisms but also the central nervous system.

長期以來，醫(yī)生們一直利用步速對老年人的認知能力進行快速可靠的了解，因為人們越來越認識到，步態(tài)不僅與肌肉骨骼機制有關，還與中樞神經(jīng)系統(tǒng)有關。

Until now, however, no one knew it could signify underlying brain health so much earlier in life.

然而，直到現(xiàn)在，沒有人知道步速可能在生命的早期就預示大腦的潛在健康狀況。

The correlation was so stark, however, that the US scientists now say walking tests could be used to provide an early indication of dementia.

美國科學家現(xiàn)在認為，這種關聯(lián)非常明顯，步行測試可以提供有關癡呆癥的早期跡象。

Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study revealed an average difference of 16 IQ points between the slowest and the fastest walkers at the age of 45.

發(fā)表在《美國醫(yī)學會雜志》上的這項研究表明，45歲時，走路最慢和最快的人之間平均相差16個智商值。

This reflected both the participants’ natural walking speed and the pace they achieved when asked to walk as fast as they could.

這既反映了參與者的自然行走速度，也反映了他們在被要求盡快行走時的速度。

Those with a slower gait also scored less well in both physical exercises, such as hand-grip strength and visual-motor coordination tests, as well as biological markers of poor health.

步速慢的人在兩項體育鍛煉中的得分也都較低，比如手握力和視覺動作協(xié)調(diào)測試，此外還有健康狀況不佳的生理跡象。

In the study, slower walkers were shown to have “accelerated aging” on a 19-measure scale devised by researchers, and their lungs, teeth and immune systems tended to be in worse shape than the people who walked faster.

在這項研究中，研究人員設計了19項測試標準。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，走路更慢的人“衰老加速”，而且他們的肺部、牙齒和免疫系統(tǒng)往往比走得更快的人更差。

The team at Duke University in North Carolina said genetic factors may explain the link between walking speed, brain capacity and physiological health, or that better brain health might promote physical activity, leading to better walking speed.

北卡羅來納州杜克大學的這個研究小組說，遺傳因素或可以解釋走路速度、大腦能力和生理健康之間的聯(lián)系，或者更好的大腦健康狀況可能會促進身體活動，從而提高走路速度。

“The thing that’s really striking is that this is in 45-year-old people, not the geriatric patients who are usually assessed with such measures,” said Dr Line Rasmussen, who led the research.

研究負責人萊恩·拉斯穆森博士說：“真正引人注目的是這種現(xiàn)象出現(xiàn)在45歲的人身上，而不是經(jīng)常以此衡量身體狀況的老年患者身上。”

The 904 New Zealand men and women who were tested at 45 were tracked from the age of three, each undergoing multiple tests over the years.

在45歲時接受測試的904名新西蘭男性和女性從3歲開始接受跟蹤，他們每個人都經(jīng)過了多年的多次測試。

The long-term data collection enabled researchers to establish that toddlers with lower IQ scores, linguistic ability, capacity to tolerate frustration, motor skills and emotional control tended to have slower gait-speeds by middle age.

研究人員通過分析長期收集的數(shù)據(jù)發(fā)現(xiàn)，智商、語言能力、抗挫能力、運動技能和情緒控制能力都較低的幼兒，到了中年時的走路速度往往較慢。

MRI exams during their final assessment at 45 showed the slower walkers tended to have lower total brain volume, lower mean cortical thickness, less brain surface area and higher incidence of white matter “hyperintensities”.

在45歲最終評估時所做的核磁共振成像檢查顯示，走得慢的人大腦總容量較低，平均皮質(zhì)厚度較低，大腦表面積較小，腦白質(zhì)白斑的發(fā)病率較高。

"In short, their brains appeared somewhat older," the researchers said.

研究人員說：“簡而言之，他們的大腦顯示有些老化。”

Slower walkers were also judged to look older facially to a panel of eight assessors who determined each patient’s “facial age” from a photograph.

一個由8名評估人員組成的小組根據(jù)照片來判斷每個人的“面部年齡”時，他們普遍認為面相更老的人正是走路速度更慢的那些人。

The researchers said some of the differences in health and cognition may be the result of lifestyle choices individuals have made.

研究人員說，健康狀況和認知方面的某些差異可能是個人選擇生活方式的結果。

But the study also suggests that there are already signs in early life of who would become the slowest walkers. “We may have a chance here to see who’s going to do better health-wise in later life,” said Dr Rasmussen.

但這項研究也表明，在早期生活中已經(jīng)有跡象表明誰會成為走路更慢的人。拉斯穆森博士說：“我們或許有機會看到誰在以后的生活中更健康。”