Associations between diet quality and cognitive control in childhood (124.1)

Abstract

The influence of diet on specific aspects of cognitive function and brain health in childhood remains unknown. We aimed to investigate the relationship between diet quality and cognitive control in prepubertal children (8‐9‐years). Participants (N=58) completed a modified Eriksen flanker task assessing interference control. Healthy eating index (HEI) scores, based on 3‐day food records, were used to assess diet quality. Percent fat mass (%FM) and aerobic fitness were measured using DXA and VO2max, respectively. Partial correlations between HEI scores and flanker task performance (accuracy and reaction time [RT]) were conducted following adjustment of age, sex, SES, IQ, VO2max and %FM. HEI scores were not correlated with accuracy in the congruent task condition (r=0.12, p=0.20), RT in the congruent (r=0.19, p=0.08), and RT in the incongruent condition (r=0.18, p=0.09). However, HEI scores were positively correlated with accuracy during the incongruent condition (r=0.28, p=0.02) and negatively related to task interference (r=‐0.29, p=0.02). Given that the incongruent, relative to the congruent, task condition requires greater amounts of interference control, these data are among the first to indicate that higher diet quality may be important for upregulation of cognitive control when faced with higher cognitive demands in childhood.Grant Funding Source: Supported by NIH HD069381