The unhappy reality of physical exercise is that you have to do it regularly. If you don't, muscle turns to flab and pounds lost are likely to return.

Not so. Cognitive training, a new study suggests, can provide mental benefits as much as 10 years after the fact.

In a recently published paper, a team of researchers from multiple institutions compared the cerebral acuity of older adults who had participated in a cognitive training program with peers who had not. The researchers found that the trained group had less difficulty with everyday tasks than those who had not undergone any training. The benefits persisted even among people who had last received the cognitive training a decade earlier.

The original training focused on improving memory recall, reasoning and learning more quickly. Cognitive improvements were then measured over time, with reasoning and speed learning persisting longest.

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

Your brain requires 20 percent of the oxygen you inhale, but operates on the same amount of power as a 10-watt light bulb.

LIFE IN BIG MACS

One hour of vigorous ballroom dancing burns 374 calories (based on a 150-pound person) or the equivalent of half a Big Mac.

DOC TALK

Asystole — a condition in which the heart no longer beats and usually cannot be restarted

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Lutraphobia — fear of otters

NEVER SAY DIET

The Major League Eating speed-eating record for meat pies (6 ounces each) is 16 in 10 minutes, held by Boyd Bulot. Warning: Most of these records are held by professional eaters; the rest by people who really should find something better to do.

OBSERVATION

"The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like, and do what you'd rather not." — American humorist Mark Twain

LAST WORDS "No comment." — American writer Edward Abbey (1927-1989) when asked if he had any last words. His "no comment" comment is engraved upon his tombstone.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.