Resistance training improved some cognitive measures in older adults
Pooled randomized trials favored overall cognition and several memory measures, while attention, processing speed and executive function showed no statistically significant improvement.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
This review found that resistance training improved overall cognitive test performance and several types of memory in older adults. The pattern was selective: processing speed, attention and executive function did not show statistically significant improvements. The abstract does not identify the comparison conditions or intervention lengths, making the practical meaning of the results harder to judge.
The abstract provides no confidence intervals for the main estimates and no detailed results by age or exercise schedule. It cannot establish which training approach produces the best outcomes.
What improved
Benefits appeared in working memory, verbal learning and memory, and spatial memory span. These were results on cognitive measures; the abstract does not report whether participants experienced better daily functioning or lasting protection from decline.
Uncertain training differences
The review asked whether age and exercise timing influenced results. Its conclusion suggests a possible dose-response relationship, but the abstract gives no subgroup estimates that would allow readers to assess that claim.
The original publication
A systematic review and meta-analysis of the effects of resistance exercise on cognitive function in older adults.
Wu J, Huang C
Front Psychiatry · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 41503279
- Record checked
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