Diet and Cognition in Aging: Effects of High-Fat-Sugar Diets on Memory and Executive Functioning

Vollständiger Abstract

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High-fat, high-sugar (HFS) diets have been linked to impairments in hippocampus-dependent memory and executive function in young adults. The present study investigated whether similar associations are observed in older adults and whether these effects vary with age. In an online sample of 470 participants aged 50~85 years, participants reported their HFS consumption and subjective memory complaints and completed tasks assessing hippocampus-dependent memory (Pattern-Separation Recognition and Face–name Associative Memory tasks) and executive functioning tasks (Trail Making and Stroop tasks). Results showed that higher HFS consumption was associated with increased subjective memory complaints in older adults. Critically, age moderated the relationship between HFS consumption and Pattern-Separation recognition memory, with higher HFS consumption associated with worse hippocampus-dependent recognition memory in participants < 65, but not ≥65 years old. When combined with a previously analyzed young-adult sample, results indicated that the negative association between HFS diet and both recognition memory and executive functioning was weaker with increased age and non-significant in older adults. These findings suggest that the cognitive effects of HFS diets are age-dependent and weaker in later life, highlighting the need for further research on aging and health-related factors that influence diet and cognition relationships across the lifespan.