A two-year Latin American trial (LatAm-FINGERS) found that a structured, coach-supported lifestyle program produced about 55 percent greater improvement in a composite global cognitive score than a lighter, education-focused approach, among adults aged 60 to 77.

The study enrolled 1,065 participants across 12 sites in 11 countries, comparing Systematic Lifestyle Intervention with ongoing coaching to Flexible Lifestyle Intervention that offered education with fewer ongoing supports.

Interventions combined regular physical activity, nutrition guided by a regionally adapted MIND-inspired plan, cognitive training, social engagement, and health monitoring, all tailored to local cultures and food availability.

Multinational collaboration helped identify essential versus adaptable components to ensure practicality, affordability, and feasibility as a scalable public-health strategy.

Core program elements included supervised exercise, culturally adapted nutrition guidance, computerized cognitive training, cardiovascular risk monitoring, and 38 group meetings to build social connection and accountability.

Experts emphasized that structure and social support are key, and these behavioral strategies could potentially be combined with future therapies to further reduce dementia risk.

The trial was funded by the Alzheimer’s Association, which also runs U.S. POINTER and hosted the presenting conference, a context readers should note when interpreting the findings.

Practical takeaway: structured, coach-supported programs with social engagement may outperform information-only approaches, suggesting families should pursue organized group programs rather than pamphlets.

Results showed improvements in global cognition, memory, executive function, and processing speed for the structured group, though these are relative differences between active arms and not absolute clinical benefits.

The Structured Lifestyle Intervention featured ongoing coaching and 38 group meetings, while the Flexible version offered fewer meetings and no continuous coaching, highlighting the impact of sustained support.

Findings were presented at AAIC 2026 and published in The Lancet, underscoring the global relevance of adaptable brain health programs for aging populations.

Open questions remain about whether cognitive gains persist, translate to fewer dementia diagnoses, or can be scaled affordably, requiring long-term follow-up and additional studies.