Commentary on “The Healthy Brain Initiative.” A community‐based perspective

t a a b C b a a h h p t m f v l S p t h d d As baby boomers age in the United States, our society is howing an ever-increasing thirst for information on how to aintain youthfulness and good health. There is a growing uest for knowledge and strategies for maintaining mental cuity. In the popular media as well as in more professionlly focused literature, there are frequent references to a ariety of interventions focusing on “maintaining your rain” (Alzheimer’s Association), “cognitive vitality” American Society on Aging), “brain fitness” [1], and memory training” [2]. Segments of the American public, articularly the better educated and more affluent, are hunry for this information and ripe for learning about and mplementing lifestyle changes to reduce their chances of cquiring debilitating brain diseases, such as Alzheimer’s or ascular dementia. This speaks to the timeliness of the Ceners for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)/Alzheimer’s ssociation Healthy Brain Initiative. Together, the CDC and the Alzheimer’s Association are xamining research evidence to support a National Public ealth Road Map to Promote and Protect Cognitive Health. he messages contained in this plan are derived from a igorous review of factors that demonstrate a positive relaionship to the maintenance of brain health. The plan seeks o translate scientific evidence into recommendations for ublic health practice and research. Thus far, a review of the vidence presented at the 2006 national research meeting hat kicked off the planning process suggests we can assert, ith some conviction, that a regular regime of physical ctivity is likely to enhance cognitive health and plasticity 3,4], and that vascular health risk factors influence cogniive health such that the reduction of risk for vascular isease [5] and stroke [6] also is likely to decrease the risk or dementia. Additional evidence is available to support ther possible contributors to cognitive health such as dia-