A groundbreaking study from the University of Sydney has uncovered how fatty and sugary diets can significantly impair cognitive function, particularly spatial navigation skills. Researchers used virtual reality mazes to test participants' ability to navigate and remember routes, finding clear connections between diet and brain performance. The study suggests that high intake of refined sugar and saturated fat negatively impacts the hippocampus, a crucial brain structure for memory and navigation. Encouragingly, the researchers believe these cognitive changes can be reversed through mindful dietary choices.
April 24, 2025
Scientists link fatty, sugary diets with impaired brain function
"The
good news is we think this is an easily reversible situation" - Dr Dominic
Tran
In a
significant study, researchers have linked fatty and sugary diets to impaired
cognitive function.
Key
Points
1 Diet
directly impacts brain's spatial navigation capabilities
2 Young
adults' cognitive performance links to food intake
3 Virtual
reality maze tests dietary impact on memory
4 Refined
sugar and fat consumption affects hippocampus function
The team
from University of Sydney looked at the relationship between high-fat,
high-sugar (HFHS) diets, particularly those high in refined sugar and saturated
fat, and first-person spatial navigation.
Spatial
navigation is the ability to learn and remember a path from one location to
another, a process that can approximate the health of the brain’s hippocampus,
said the study published in the International Journal of Obesity.
Dr
Dominic Tran from the Faculty of Science’s School of Psychology led the
research, which found HFHS diets have a detrimental effect on some aspects of
cognitive function.
It is
likely those effects centre on the hippocampus, the brain structure important
for spatial navigation and memory formation, rather than acting across the
entire brain.
“The good
news is we think this is an easily reversible situation,” Dr Tran said.
“Dietary changes can improve the health of the hippocampus, and therefore our
ability to navigate our environment, such as when we’re exploring a new city or
learning a new route home.”
The
research team recruited 55 university students aged between 18 and 38.
Each
participant completed questionnaires capturing their intake of sugary and fatty
foods. They also had their working memory tested in a number recall exercise,
and their body mass index (BMI) recorded.
The
experiment itself required participants to navigate a virtual reality maze and
locate a treasure chest six times. The maze was surrounded by landmarks that
participants could use to remember their route. Their starting point and the
location of the treasure chest remained constant in each trial.
If
participants found the treasure in less than four minutes, they continued to
the next trial. If they failed to find the treasure in this time, they were
teleported to its location and given 10 seconds to familiarise themselves with
that location before the next trial.
Those
with lower levels of fat and sugar in their diets were able to pinpoint the
location with a higher degree of accuracy than those who consumed these foods
multiple times a week.
“After
controlling for working memory and BMI, measured separately to the experiment,
participants’ sugar and fat intake was a reliable predictor of performance in
that final, seventh, test,” Dr Tran said.
Dr Tran
said the results highlight the importance of making good dietary choices to maintain
healthy brain function.
We’ve
long known eating too much refined sugar and saturated fat brings the risk of
obesity, metabolic and cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers. We also
know these unhealthy eating habits hasten the onset of age-related cognitive
decline in middle age and older adults.
“This
research gives us evidence that diet is important for brain health in early
adulthood, a period when cognitive function is usually intact,” Dr Tran said.
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