One group did on average twenty minutes more physical activity a day, mainly vigorous walking, and it was this group that performed better on tests for memory and other cognitive functioning.

The Director for the WA Centre for Health and Ageing, Leon Flicker, says the increase was small but significant.

"The improvement in memory functioning was a little over a point on one of the scales that we use," he said."To put it in perspective, this is actually more than the effect of some of the drugs that have been trialed in the past which, overall, have been found to be ineffective."

Professor Flicker says the people who took part had some memory complaints but none were suffering from dementia.He says more research needs to be done and this will look at what sort of exercise is best and whether it can help those suffering from dementia.

"What we've shown is that a moderate increase in physical activity produces a moderate increase in the brain's functioning, but whether a lot more activity would continue to have even greater effect, we really can't say at this stage," he said. The trial results will be published in the Journal of the American Medical Association today.

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