How the 2018 US Physical Activity Guidelines are a Call to Promote and Better Understand Acute Physical Activity for Cognitive Function Gains

Yu-Kai Chang,Tsung-Min Hung,Kirk I. Erickson,Emmanuel Stamatakis

doi:10.1007/s40279-019-01190-x

Abstract

The new 2018 edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PAGA18) released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [1] and directly informed by the 779-page 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report [2] will undoubtedly change how we promote and research physical activity (PA). For the first time, PAGA18 include new insights on the role of a single session of PA for cognitive function and brain health, suggesting that the scientific evidence supporting PA benefits on cognitive function and brain health has matured. In addition, considering the difficulty in initiating and adhering to a long-term exercise program, cognitive function benefits from a single bout may provide a new approach to promote exercise for people who are not ready yet to adopt and adhere to an ongoing habitual exercise routine...

Highlights

The new 2018 edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PAGA18) released by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services [1] and directly informed by the 779-page 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report [2] will undoubtedly change how we promote and research physical activity (PA)
PAGA18 [1] highlights the role of a single episode of moderate-to-vigorous PA as a facilitator of performance across several cognitive domains including executive function, processing speed, memory, attention, and academic achievement tests
The PAGA18, along with the 2014 American College of Sports Medicine’s guidelines that addressed the relationship between PA and cognitive function [4], provide a landmark for the prescriptions of a single bout of exercise to facilitate a variety of improvements in cognitive function

Summary

Introduction

The new 2018 edition of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans (PAGA18) released by the U.S Department of Health and Human Services [1] and directly informed by the 779-page 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines Advisory Committee Scientific Report [2] will undoubtedly change how we promote and research physical activity (PA). PAGA18 include new insights on the role of a single session of PA for cognitive function and brain health, suggesting that the scientific evidence supporting PA benefits on cognitive function and brain health has matured. Considering the difficulty in initiating and adhering to a long-term exercise program, cognitive function benefits from a single bout may provide a new approach to promote exercise for people who are not ready yet to adopt and adhere to an ongoing habitual exercise routine

Current Recommendation

Optimizing Future Prescriptions of Acute Exercise

Conclusions