Project 461667

RATIONALE: Over 500,000 Canadians live with dementia. Larger and higher quality trials are needed to establish how healthy lifestyle (including exercise and healthy diet) can reduce dementia risk. Our overarching aim is to understand whether a trial of exercise and healthy diet conducted virtually (on Zoom) among people at high risk of dementia is feasible for large scale study. Importantly, we will also train participants to set and reach their own exercise and diet-related goals. This will likely help people overcome barriers to a healthy lifestyle and increase maintenance of lifestyle changes. OBJECTIVES: Our primary objective is to examine the feasibility of the virtual exercise and healthy diet trial. We will also estimate preliminary changes in thinking abilities (cognition), physical function, and quality of life. METHODS: We will recruit people who feel that their cognition is declining (subjective cognitive decline) to a 6-month virtual trial. Participants will receive different combinations of exercise and healthy diet interventions. We will assess participants before they start the trial, after they complete the interventions, and again 6-months later. Exercise and healthy diet programs will be delivered through small group, on-line sessions. Assessments will also be conducted on-line. IMPACT: A successful proof-of-concept trial would lead to a larger, definitive trial. If that were beneficial, our interventions could be implemented to reach older Canadians across the country for the purpose of dementia risk reduction.