The Association of Obesity and Overweight with Executive Functions in Community-Dwelling Older Women

Abstract

Among the risk factors reported for cognitive decline, the literature highlights changes in body composition. Thus, the aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between obesity/overweight and executive functions in cognitively normal older adult women. This cross-sectional study included 224 individuals (60–80 years), stratified into normal weight (n = 45), overweight (n = 98), and obesity (n = 81). As outcomes, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC), and Trail Making Test Parts A and B were assessed. We found positive correlations of BMI and WC with completion times of TMT-A and TMT-B, and a negative correlation of BMI and WC with education. ANCOVA showed an association between higher BMI and slower completion time of TMT-A, TMT-B, and ΔTMT (B-A). Impairment of executive functions of cognitively normal older women may be positively associated with obesity and negatively associated with years of education. The findings may contribute to designing strategies that make it possible to prevent cognitive decline in women during aging.

Fatness but Not Fitness Linked to BrainAge: Longitudinal Changes in Brain Aging during an Exercise Intervention

“…Independent of fitness and activity levels, body composition, particularly body fatness, has also been hypothesized to contribute to changes in brain volume and cognitive function. For example, higher BMI has been associated with decreased gray matter volume across multiple brain regions (14), and links between central adiposity, as measured by waist circumference, and executive function have been observed both in children (15) and older women (16). Recent systematic reviews of cross-sectional studies have indicated that obesity, particularly central obesity, is commonly correlated with reduced cortical thickness and gray matter volume (17) and with cognitive impairment in older adults (18).…”