Structured Lifestyle Coaching Boosted Brain Health 55% More Than Basic Advice

Older adults at risk of dementia who took part in structured lifestyle coaching programs across 11 Latin American countries showed significantly better memory, thinking skills and overall cognitive performance than those given only general health education, according to a two-year study called the Latin American Initiative for Lifestyle Intervention to Prevent Cognitive Decline (LatAm-FINGERS). The Alzheimer's Association-funded study was presented at the Alzheimer's Association International Conference (AAIC) 2026 in London and published in The Lancet.

The study built on the earlier U.S. Study to Protect Brain Health Through Lifestyle Intervention to Reduce Risk (U.S. POINTER), adapting its combination of physical activity, healthy eating, cognitive training and social engagement for different cultures and health systems. "We did not simply translate the U.S. POINTER model into Spanish and Portuguese. We adapted it to local cultures and habits while preserving its core elements," said lead author Lucia Crivelli of Fleni, a neurological institute in Buenos Aires. Multinational working groups from every participating country decided which elements to keep consistent and which to adjust, incorporating activities such as salsa and tango, outdoor group workouts, and a modified MIND diet using locally accessible foods including avocado, quinoa, acai, aguaymanto, chia and pumpkin seeds.

The analysis included 1,065 people at 12 sites across Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Mexico, Peru and Uruguay, randomly assigned to two groups. The Systematic Lifestyle Intervention (SLI) group of 539 participants received continuous coaching through supervised exercise, nutrition counseling, computerized cognitive training, cardiovascular risk monitoring and 38 group meetings. The Flexible Lifestyle Intervention (FLI) group of 526 participants received only periodic health education and broad lifestyle recommendations, with four group meetings and no continuing coaching or supervision.

After two years, the more structured SLI program produced a 55% greater improvement in overall cognition than the FLI approach. "LatAm-FINGERS included significant racial and ethnic diversity, and a wide range in education and socioeconomic status," said Laura Baker of Wake Forest University School of Medicine and Advocate Health, a U.S. POINTER principal investigator. Heather Snyder of the Alzheimer's Association said the results add to U.S. POINTER's findings, strengthening the case that structured, socially supported lifestyle interventions can be adapted for diverse populations and communities worldwide, including in low- and middle-income countries.