A research study to encourage physical activity for over-50s, whilst learning if this improves mood, brain function and physical ability
Be part of an exciting research study
Improve your physical fitness levels
Set and reach your personal goals
Train for the Brain is part of the PROTECT study and is hosted jointly by King’s College London and the University of Exeter.
Anyone over the age of 50 who lives in the United Kingdom and does not have a diagnosis of dementia is able to take part in this study.
We need to know about certain medical conditions as we will tailor the exercise programme to your individual needs.
If you have a condition which may put you at a higher risk we suggest you speak with your GP before enrolling in the study.
Exercise has multiple benefits and we can continue to see improvements within our fitness and overall health regardless of our age or current activity levels.
The Department of Health have several key recommendations regarding the amount of exercise you should be carrying out each week and the different types of exercise to fit into your routine.
You should also ensure that you break up sedentary exercises, please do use this for support. periods of activity, as this is recognised as a risk factor.
Dementia is an umbrella terms that describes a broad set of symptoms resulting from damage to the brain caused by diseases, injury or other conditions. Symptoms range from memory loss and difficulty with language to changes in behaviour and personality.
There are currently 800,000 people with dementia in the UK. This is set to rise to one million by 2025 as someone develops the condition every 3.2 minutes. The most common cause of dementia is Alzheimer’s Disease but there are over one hundred different causes.
Dementia costs the UK £20 billion each year, more than heart disease, stroke and cancer combined. Despite this, we know surprisingly little about how dementia develops and what can be done to prevent it.
We do know that the risk of dementia is higher in people who:
Dementia at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London
This includes any ill health that may or may not have lead to a hospital admission, such as infections, falls, fractures, loss of consciousness (fainting), stroke, heart attack, torn ligament, sprains, allergic reactions and seizures.
About your exercise diary (IPAQ) comprises a set of 4 questionnaires. Long (5 activity domains asked independently) and short (4 generic items) versions for use by either telephone or self-administered methods are available. The purpose of the questionnaires is to provide common instruments that can be used to obtain internationally comparable data on health–related physical activity.
The development of an international measure for physical activity commenced in Geneva in 1998 and was followed by extensive reliability and validity testing undertaken across 12 countries (14 sites) during 2000. The final results suggest that these measures have acceptable measurement properties for use in many settings and in different languages, and are suitable for national population-based prevalence studies of participation in physical activitk.
Use of the IPAQ instruments for monitoring and research purposes is encouraged. It is recommended that no changes be made to the order or wording of the questions as this will affect the psychometric properties of the instruments.
Translation from English is supported to facilitate worldwide use of IPAQ. Information on the availability of IPAQ in different languages can be obtained at www.ipaq.ki.se. If a new translation is undertaken we highly recommend using the prescribed back translation methods available on the IPAQ website. If possible please consider making your translated version of IPAQ available to others by contributing it to the IPAQ website. Further details on translation and cultural adaptation can be downloaded from the website.
International collaboration on IPAQ is on-going and an International Physical Activity Prevalence Study is in progress. For further information see the IPAQ website.
More detailed information on the IPAQ process and the research methods used in the development of IPAQ instruments is available at www.ipaq.ki.se and Booth, M.L. (2000). Assessment of Physical Activity: An International Perspective. Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport, 71 (2): s114-20. Other scientific publications and presentations on the use of IPAQ are summarized on the website.
You can contact us by email, telephone, fax, letter or use the contact form below if you have a question which doesn’t seem to be answered on this site.
PROTECT Study
Clinical Trials Team
Wolfson Centre for Age-Related Diseases
Guy’s campus
King’s College London
London SE1 1UL
0207 848 8183
This page includes the information and details required to support you in making your decision to take part in the PROTECT study. It is important that you fully understand the information provided before you agree to take part in the study. This is a legal requirement for all research conducted in the UK.
The Train for the Brain study has been approved by an independent ethical committee and fulfils all the legal obligations. The key points of this legislation are outlined below. Further information is available in the information leaflet.
We understand that it is important for you to be confident that any data we hold about you is safe and confidential. We ensure this in the following ways:
It is essential that all participants in the Train for the Brain study agree to take part of their own volition, and indicate that they understand what the study involves. There is no obligation to take part. Once you have provided consent you can withdraw from the study at any time.
When you give your consent you are agreeing that we can collect and store data about you according to the information provided in the information leaflet.
