研究：走路慢的人思维也慢

走路快慢不仅和个人习惯有关，还和思维速度相关。科学家们说，基于一系列新的实验，他们现在认为一个人的走路速度越慢，他们的大脑能力就越差。

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

在人类的所有活动中，很少有什么活动能像散步一样被认定为可以增强思维能力。

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，科学家们说，认为缓步行走是智力超群标志的人们应该三思。

hallmark [ˈhɔːlmɑːk]：n.特点；品质证明

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.

事实上，根据一系列新的实验，科学家们现在认为一个人走路的速度越慢，大脑就越迟钝。

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

研究人员对数百名中年人进行了步速分析，并将结果与一系列生理和心理标准相比较。

gait [ɡeɪt]：n.步法，步态

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.

长期以来，医生们一直利用步速对老年人的认知能力进行快速可靠的了解，因为人们越来越认识到，步态不仅与肌肉骨骼机制有关，还与中枢神经系统有关。

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

然而，直到现在，没有人知道步速可能在生命的早期就预示大脑的潜在健康状况。

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

美国科学家现在认为，这种关联非常明显，步行测试可以提供有关痴呆症的早期迹象。

dementia[dɪˈmenʃə]：n.痴呆

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.

发表在《美国医学会杂志》上的这项研究表明，45岁时，走路最慢和最快的人之间平均相差16个智商值。

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

这既反映了参与者的自然行走速度，也反映了他们在被要求尽快行走时的速度。

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.

步速慢的人在两项体育锻炼中的得分也都较低，比如手握力和视觉动作协调测试，此外还有健康状况不佳的生理迹象。

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.

在这项研究中，研究人员设计了19项测试标准。研究发现，走路更慢的人“衰老加速”，而且他们的肺部、牙齿和免疫系统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.

北卡罗来纳州杜克大学的这个研究小组说，遗传因素或可以解释走路速度、大脑能力和生理健康之间的联系，或者更好的大脑健康状况可能会促进身体活动，从而提高走路速度。

“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.

研究负责人莱恩·拉斯穆森博士说：“真正引人注目的是这种现象出现在45岁的人身上，而不是经常以此衡量身体状况的老年患者身上。”

geriatric[ˌdʒeriˈætrɪk]：adj.老人的；老年医学的

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岁时接受测试的904名新西兰男性和女性从3岁开始接受跟踪，他们每个人都经过了多年的多次测试。

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.

研究人员通过分析长期收集的数据发现，智商、语言能力、抗挫能力、运动技能和情绪控制能力都较低的幼儿，到了中年时的走路速度往往较慢。

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岁最终评估时所做的核磁共振成像检查显示，走得慢的人大脑总容量较低，平均皮质厚度较低，大脑表面积较小，脑白质白斑的发病率较高。

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

研究人员说：“简而言之，他们的大脑显示有些老化。”

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.

一个由8名评估人员组成的小组根据照片来判断每个人的“面部年龄”时，他们普遍认为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.

研究人员说，健康状况和认知方面的某些差异可能是个人选择生活方式的结果。

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.

但这项研究也表明，在早期生活中已经有迹象表明谁会成为走路更慢的人。拉斯穆森博士说：“我们或许有机会看到谁在以后的生活中更健康。”