Felicity Simpson

ISNPR member Felicity Simpson won the ISNPR Outstanding Publication award for round 2 2024, for their study ‘The Relationship Between Dietary Patterns, Cognition, and Cardiometabolic Health in Healthy Older Adults’ published in Nutrients.

Felicity shares some details below about their study:

A recent Lancet report suggests that up to 45% of dementia cases could be prevented by addressing modifiable risk factors, particularly cardiometabolic ones. In response, our study involving 424 older adults from Newcastle and Adelaide investigates the link between dietary patterns, cognitive function and cardiometabolic health. We utilised principle component analysis to identify three distinct dietary patterns:  a plant-dominated diet, an ultra-processed meat-dominated diet, and a Western-style diet.

Our findings indicated that a meat-heavy diet was associated with poorer long-term memory. This association was notably stronger in individuals with higher cardiometabolic risks, highlighting the role of metabolic health in cognitive decline.

This study is pioneering in the Australian context, being among the first to differentiate the cognitive effects of specific dietary patterns in a generally health and active population. The implications are very interesting and in the future personalised dietary  interventions that consider individual metabolic profiles could potentially reduce dementia risk and enhance cognitive longevity.

Looking forward, our research paves the way for more detailed studies to refine these dietary recommendations and develop precise nutritional therapies. The goal is to provide actionable, evidence-based strategies that public health initiatives can use to combat dementia and improve the quality of life for aging populations. This approach to precision nutrition could dramatically shift our management of cognitive health, making a significant impact on public health.