Association between dietary parameters and cognitive functions in first year undergraduate Health Sciences students

Abstract

Adolescence is a stage characterized by emotional, psychological, physical and social changes. When entering the university, it is common for adolescents to change their lifestyles along with their eating habits due to increased coursework, homework and socializing factors. These issues lead them to have less control over quotidian things such as diet quality and sleep. Unhealthy diets are a well‐known risk factor for developing metabolic, psychological and cognitive dysfunction, affecting their behavior, attention, learning, memory and decreasing school performance. The present study will describe the dietary and cognitive parameters in first‐year undergraduate students of health sciences at the Autonomous University of the State of Mexico. 125 18 to 21 year‐old freshmen, with variable body‐mass index participated in the study. Participants’ eating habits were evaluated with 24‐hr food diaries, thrice a week. Food consumption frequency questionnaires were used to identify dietary parameters according to diet quality indexes. The Wechsler intelligence scale for adults‐IV (WAIS‐IV) was used to analyze four cognitive parameters: verbal comprehension, perceptual reasoning, working memory and processing speed. Preliminary results from 50 individuals have been completed. Healthier dietary parameters have been identified in men in comparison with women, having more balanced diets overall, according to national guidelines. Similarly, men showed higher average scores in the cognitive parameters assessed. Positive correlations were found between intelligence quotient and total calorie and saturated fatty acid intake in men (p=0.0001, Rho 1.000), as well as between processing speed and saturated fatty acids, lipids, cholesterol and carbohydrate intake in women (p=0.049, Rho 0.350). A negative correlation was found between working memory and vegetable intake (p=0.036, Rho −0.426) in men. Our preliminary data suggest that male freshmen eat healthier diets than women at the authors’ academic institution and that their diets affect their cognitive performance. Additional assessments for sleep quality, exercise habits and self‐image are currently under study in this population.