Wednesday, December 11, 2024
HomeEat wellDietBenefits of a low-fat diet could include reduced risk of cognitive impairment

Benefits of a low-fat diet could include reduced risk of cognitive impairment

Cognitive impairment and dementia are significant conditions affecting women as they age, with a reported two-thirds of instances of age-related cognitive impairment and dementia seen in women. Previous research has found associations between diet and cognitive function, however large, well-designed studies have been significantly lacking.

Given the relative ease of dietary interventions, this might be a significant prevention strategy. Researchers from the United States set out to determine whether a low-fat diet has any long-term effects on cognitive function in women.

The researchers conducted a randomized, controlled clinical study, examining the possible benefits of a low-fat diet on cognitive function. All participants were postmenopausal women who were enrolled in The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) Dietary Modification (DM) trial, as well as the Women’s Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS). WHIMS consisted of 1,606 participants, a subgroup of the 48,835 participants enrolled in the WHI DM. Participants were either placed in an intervention or a comparison group. All participants reduced their fat intake to 20% of energy. They consumed more fruits, vegetables, and grains.

Cognitive function assessments were completed on each participant at the start of the WHIMS study. Any participant who scored low on the first assessment was considered to possibly be at risk of cognitive impairment and therefore, was further evaluated. These participants were eventually categorized as “no cognitive impairment”, “mild cognitive impairment”, or “probable dementia”. All participants, no matter their original assessment outcome, were assessed annually.

The researchers found that women who were in the dietary intervention group had a significant reduction in their risk of cognitive impairment. The study also reported that during the follow-up period, the number of deaths in this group was lower, however, this result was not statistically significant.

The results of this study contribute to current evidence that dietary changes can significantly impact on cognitive health, specifically, that reducing fat consumption can improve cognitive health in aging women.

According to the researchers, “our current findings provide prospective, randomized clinical trial evidence that adoption of a low-fat dietary pattern, representing dietary moderation, significantly reduced risk of possible cognitive impairment in postmenopausal women.”

 

Written by Laura Laroche, HBASc, Medical Writer

 

References:

Chlebowski, Rowan T. et al. “Low-fat dietary pattern and global cognitive function: Exploratory analyses of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI) randomized Dietary Modification Trial”. EClinicalMedicine  – The Lancet. Vol. 18. January 1st, 2020. Online.

Mild Cognitive Impairment. 2020, https://www.alz.org/alzheimers-dementia/what-is-dementia/related_conditions/mild-cognitive-impairment, accessed February 6th, 2020.

Image by Lukas Bieri from Pixabay

RELATED ARTICLES

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Latest News and Articles

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTERS

Stay Connected
10,288FansLike
820FollowersFollow
249FollowersFollow
2,787FollowersFollow

Article of the month

Do wearable sleep trackers work?

How well does your Fitbit track your sleep? Find out the truth about its accuracy and how it compares to clinical sleep studies.Quick FactsFitbit...

Joke Of The Day – December 12

Doctor to his patient who suffers from obesity:You can eat whatever you like, and here is the list of what you should like...

ADVERTISE WITH US

error: Content is read-only and copy-protected.