TL;DR
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A study using Fitbit and blood-pressure records linked higher daily activity with better scores on tests of attention, cognitive control and decision-making among 3,093 adults. The associations were small, and the researchers measured cognition only once, so the findings do not show that walking more improves brain function or prevents decline.
A study of 3,093 U.S. adults found that people with higher Fitbit-recorded physical activity tended to score better on three tests of attention, cognitive control and decision-making. Published in Scientific Reports, the observational study also found an association between higher systolic blood pressure and poorer performance on one decision-making test, but it cannot establish that walking more improves cognition or prevents decline.
Researchers analyzed activity and blood-pressure records spanning 2009 to 2023 for participants in the All of Us Research Program, who ranged from 18 to 93 years old. Participants completed a set of cognitive tasks once, from September 2023 onward. The tests assessed sustained attention, cognitive control, choices between immediate and delayed rewards, and recognition of facial emotions.
Higher baseline physical activity was associated with better scores on the Flanker Task, Gradual Onset Continuous Performance Task (Grad-CPT), and Delay Discounting Task. The study grouped people by their step-count patterns: the groups averaged 5,108, 8,875 and 14,161 steps. Those in the two higher-step groups scored better on the Grad-CPT, Flanker and Delay Discounting tasks than those in the lowest-step group. The highest-step group did not lead on every test; the middle group had the highest Flanker scores.
In adjusted analyses, an estimated 1,000 additional daily steps was associated with scores 0.31 points higher on the Grad-CPT and 0.26 points higher on the Flanker Task. More activity was also associated with better Delay Discounting performance. Each 1 mm Hg increase in systolic blood pressure was associated with poorer performance on that task. Blood pressure was not significantly associated with scores on the other three tests, and diastolic pressure was not significantly associated with any of the four.
What the Test Scores Suggest
The results add evidence from tracker-recorded activity to research on movement and cognition, rather than relying solely on participants’ recollections of how active they were. The findings could help guide further studies of how everyday activity and vascular health relate to thinking skills across adulthood.
However, the measured differences were small associations, not proof of benefit. The study did not test whether increasing someone’s steps changes their cognitive score, nor whether activity prevents dementia or age-related cognitive decline. The results are not a basis for predicting an individual’s cognitive ability from step count.
The blood-pressure finding was limited to one test. The researchers’ mediation analysis estimated that systolic blood pressure statistically accounted for 4.8% of the activity–decision-making association; the association with activity remained after accounting for blood pressure. This statistical result does not show that blood-pressure changes caused a change in cognition.
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How Activity and Cognition Were Measured
Earlier research has examined possible links between physical activity, blood pressure and cognitive performance, but studies have differed in their methods. The report notes that some previous work used shorter observation periods or self-reported activity, making longer-running objective records a useful addition. The present study drew on Fitbit step counts and repeated blood-pressure records, then related model-based estimates of participants’ activity and pressure to their cognitive test results.
The participants’ average age was 58; 57% were aged 60 or older. The sample was 75% White and 68% female, and 92% had some college education or more. Researchers adjusted analyses for factors including age, education, marital status, income and country of origin. These characteristics matter when interpreting how well the results may apply to people beyond this particular study group.
Although activity and blood pressure records covered many years, cognition was assessed only once per participant. The researchers also examined whether changes in activity or blood pressure over time related to test performance; those changes were not significantly associated with cognition in their analysis.
“The findings cannot establish whether greater activity prevents cognitive decline or whether lowering blood pressure improves cognition.”
— The study authors, in their report in Scientific Reports
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Limits of the Evidence
The design cannot establish cause and effect: people who are more active may differ in other ways that affect test performance, and the study cannot determine whether activity came before cognitive differences. Because cognition was measured once, it also cannot track decline or improvement in individual participants.
The reported associations were small, and changes in activity and blood pressure over time were not significantly associated with cognitive scores. The sample was not evenly representative of the broader U.S. population, with most participants identifying as White and having at least some college education. The findings may not apply in the same way to other groups.
It also remains unclear why the associations appeared on three tests but not the emotional-recognition test, or why systolic pressure was linked to only the Delay Discounting Task. The report does not establish that taking more steps, lowering blood pressure, or combining the two would change anyone’s score.
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What Follow-Up Studies Need to Test
The report does not announce a specific next study or intervention. To clarify whether activity has a direct effect, future research would need repeated cognitive assessments over time and designs that can better establish whether changes in physical activity precede changes in performance. Researchers could also test whether the patterns hold in more diverse populations.
Further work could examine the task-specific blood-pressure finding and the proposed role of vascular health, while separating those effects from other differences among participants. Until then, the study supports an association between recorded activity and selected test scores, not a claim that walking more prevents cognitive decline.
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Key Questions
Did the study prove that walking more improves brain function?
No. It found an association between higher recorded activity and better scores on three tests. Because cognition was measured once and the study was observational, it cannot show that more walking caused the higher scores.
How many steps were associated with better test scores?
The researchers compared groups averaging 5,108, 8,875 and 14,161 steps. The two higher-step groups scored better than the lowest-step group on the Grad-CPT, Flanker and Delay Discounting tasks. These are group averages, not step targets shown to improve cognition.
Which cognitive tests were linked to activity?
Higher baseline activity was associated with scores on the Flanker Task, Grad-CPT and Delay Discounting Task. The study found no significant activity association reported for the emotional-recognition task.
Did blood pressure explain the activity finding?
Only a small portion of the association on the Delay Discounting Task was statistically attributed to systolic blood pressure: 4.8%. The activity association persisted after adjustment, and this analysis does not establish that blood pressure caused the score differences.
Can the results show whether activity prevents dementia?
No. The study did not measure whether participants developed dementia or experienced cognitive decline. Its single cognitive assessment cannot establish that higher activity prevents either outcome.
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