Our study aimed to evaluate whether the type of food products and the frequency of their consumption are associated with cognitive functioning in younger and older adults. The impact of diets that are high in added sugars and saturated fat on cognitive functioning, especially on memory, was at the center of our interest. Participants in the study were 204 healthy adults (aged 20-55) who performed a multitasking cognitive test and completed dietary and psychological questionnaires. Stepwise regression analysis with age and food consumption patterns as predictors, and the cognitive task performance as a dependent variable, revealed that cognitive task performance worsened with age. However, we found that the frequency of consuming different types of foods (healthy versus unhealthy dietary patterns) moderates the effects of age on cognitive functioning. Red meat and animal fat consumption were negatively correlated with cognitive performance, and this relation was dependent on the age of our participants. Conversely, white meat and fish consumption were positively related to memory. Different indices of dietary patterns (both positive and negative) were stronger predictors of cognitive performance in the older adult group. We interpret our results as evidence that diet may be a protective (or worsening) factor in age-related cognitive decline.
Keywords: Fatigue Assessment Scale (FAS); Western diet; arithmetic abilities; cognitive aging; cognitive functioning; food consumption; healthy diet; memory; the SynWin multitasking task.