1000 Section - A 360 degree approach to healthy aging: 6 month analysis of functional outcomes in the IMPACT 360 multimodal exercise, meditation and nutrition randomized control study in older adults

Wednesday, May 20, 2026

6:00 PM - 7:30 PM PT

Presenting Author/Autor expositor(s)

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Tom S. Watson, MD

Resident Physician
Division of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation | UBC Department of Medicine
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Co-Author/Coautor(s)

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Silke Appel-Cresswell, MD

Associate Professor, Division of Neurology
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Objectives : Canada’s aging population faces rising rates of neurocognitive disorders, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease. Modifiable risk factors such as type 2 diabetes can be targeted through lifestyle interventions. Emerging evidence suggests that combined interventions may yield synergistic neuroprotective effects, though mechanisms remain unclear. The IMPACT 360 crossover randomized controlled study evaluates a multimodal program integrating physical activity, meditation, and nutrition in older adults and will provide a normative dataset for replication in clinical populations.

Design: Adults aged 50–75 without neurodegenerative diagnoses were screened for eligibility including not already meeting recommended levels of moderate to vigorous physical activity. Sixty-one participants were randomized to intervention or waitlist. The intervention consisted of three guided exercise classes weekly, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training, and biweekly nutrition and cooking classes based on the mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet. The waitlist group continued usual activities for 6 months. Extensive outcome measures including survey data, fMRI, fecal samples as well as functional and biomarker measures were collected at baseline and 6 months.

Results: This preliminary analysis includes the first 27 participants (14 intervention, 13 waitlist). Outcomes assessed were Dynamic Gait Index, BERG Balance Scale, 30-second sit-to-stand, Timed Up and Go (TUG), 6-minute walk test (6MWT), and C-reactive protein (CRP). Significant improvements (p< 0.05) were observed in the intervention group for TUG and CRP reduction, with no significant changes in the waitlist group. Both groups improved on sit-to-stand. The intervention group showed a nonsignificant trend toward improved 6MWT performance.

Conclusion: This initial anaylsis indicates that this multimodal lifestyle intervention has been successful in improving several measures of functional performance and may enhance cardiovascular fitness while reducing a general marker of inflammation. Ongoing analyses of a wide array of pro and anti-inflammatory markers will aim to clarify this potential mechanism underlying neuroprotective effects as remaining participants complete the study.