Key Points
Oxford study links diet quality to brain connectivity
Waist-to-hip ratio impacts cognitive performance
Midlife interventions crucial for brain health
Diet affects memory and executive function
Researchers from Oxford University and University College London in the UK found that people in midlife engaging in healthy eating had an increased hippocampal functional connectivity to the occipital lobe and cerebellum; as well as a better white matter.
These improved working memory, executive function, and overall cognitive performance in middle-aged adults.
On the other hand, those with higher waist-to-hip ratio in midlife had a widespread decrease in white matter integrity, leading to implications in memory and executive function.
Reduced fractional anisotropy in these regions was linked to poorer cognitive performance.
"Healthier diets and lower waist-to-hip ratio during midlife correlate with improved brain health in older age," said the researchers in the study, published in JAMA Network Open.
Global shifts in dietary habits have contributed to rising rates of obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, all of which are linked to an increased risk of dementia.
Research into the relationship between diet, metabolic health, and brain function has primarily focused on individual nutrients, with fewer studies assessing overall diet quality and body fat distribution over extended periods.
Previous studies have suggested that midlife is a critical window for cognitive health interventions, yet long-term study evidence on diet and brain connectivity remains limited.
The study analysed longitudinal changes in diet quality and waist-to-hip ratio to assess their association with hippocampal connectivity and cognitive function in ageing.
The team included 512 participants in the diet quality analysis and 664 in the waist-to-hip ratio analysis.
The findings suggest that interventions to improve diet and manage central obesity might be most effective between ages 48 and 70 years.
