New research, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), suggests that greater cardiorespiratory fitness in middle aged adults is associated with more brain volume and greater white matter integrity measured five years later.

Reference

Zhu, N., JAcobs, D.R., Schreiner, P.J., Launer, L.J., Whitmer, R.A., Sidney, S., Demerath, E., Thomas, W., Bouchard, C., He, K., Erus, G., Battapady, H. & Bryan, R.N. (2015) Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Brain Volume and White Matter Integrity. Neurology. Published online before print May 8, 2015, doi: 10.1212/WNL.0000000000001658.