Long-term consumption of a Mediterranean diet may not benefit cognitive function for everyone.
A recent study, published in the journal Preventive Medicine Reports, has found that a long-term Mediterranean diet intervention did not show any improvement in cognitive function in older African American adults, despite facilitating clinically meaningful weight loss and better diet adherence.
The study, known as the BRIDGE study, involved 185 participants aged 55-85, with an average age of 66, and an average BMI of 37.1 kg/m2. Over 90% of the participants identified as non-Hispanic Black or African American. The participants were randomly selected to follow an eight-month Mediterranean diet lifestyle intervention with weight loss or without weight loss.
Despite significant weight loss (an average of 3.8 kg) and reduced visceral fat in the weight loss group, no cognitive gains were observed across the groups. Rehan Aziz, a geriatric psychiatrist at Jersey Shore University Medical Center in New Jersey, believes that longer-term or more intensive dietary interventions might be needed to see cognitive improvements.
The study's focus on older African American adults is encouraging, as this demographic is often overlooked in dementia prevention research. David Cutler, a board-certified family medicine physician at Providence Saint John's Health Center in Santa Monica, California, emphasizes the need for more dementia prevention trials that center on African American communities.
The Mediterranean diet has been linked to a lower risk for type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and certain cancers in past studies. However, the evidence linking Mediterranean diet to better cognition comes mostly from studies in predominantly White populations, so the effect may not translate directly or may require longer intervention periods.
Cutler suggests that the cognitive impact of a Mediterranean diet may not have been detected due to the relatively short study period. He highlights the overall benefits of a calorie-restricted Mediterranean diet, including a reduction in body fat, as positive health effects that should not be ignored.
Aziz suggests that future studies should explore reasons for adherence to the intervention, identify subgroups that may benefit cognitively, and consider psychosocial variables like level of social support. McLeod, another researcher involved in the study, suggests that longer follow-up periods may lead to cognitive benefits for participants who have adhered to a Mediterranean diet and achieved weight loss.
In conclusion, while the Mediterranean diet supports weight loss and better adherence to healthy eating in older African American adults, its impact on cognition remains unclear. Longer-term or more tailored interventions, possibly combining diet with other approaches, may be required to achieve cognitive benefits in this high-risk group.
- The study, the BRIDGE study, focused on seniors, specifically older African American adults aged 55-85, with an average age of 66, and an average BMI of 37.1 kg/m2.
- The participants were divided into two groups, one following an eight-month Mediterranean diet lifestyle intervention with weight loss and the other without weight loss.
- Despite significant weight loss and reduced visceral fat in the weight loss group, no cognitive improvements were observed across the groups in the neurology field.
- Rehan Aziz, a geriatric psychiatrist, believes that longer-term or more intensive dietary interventions might be needed to see cognitive improvements in seniors.
- David Cutler, a family medicine physician, underscores the need for more dementia prevention trials that center on African American communities, given the minimal research in this area.
- The Mediterranean diet has been associated with a lower risk for various medical-conditions such as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, obesity, and certain cancers, according to past studies.
- However, the evidence linking the Mediterranean diet to better cognition primarily comes from studies in predominantly White populations, suggesting that the effect may not be identical or may require longer intervention periods.
- Cutler and Aziz both suggest that future studies should consider factors that affect adherence to the intervention, explore subgroups that may benefit cognitively, and consider psychosocial variables like level of social support to achieve cognitive benefits in this high-risk group, possibly through longer follow-up periods or combined approaches including fitness and exercise, health-and-wellness, and skin-care practices for men and women.
