Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Obesity is one of the most important unmet prevention and treatment health challenges. The high prevalence of overweight and obesity, which has more than tripled since the 1970s, is of serious public health concern since overweight and obesity are often concomitant with adverse complications, including diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Cognitive impairment and depression are also suggested to be associated with obesity and increased measures of adiposity. Given 50 million people worldwide are diagnosed with dementia and more than 300 million people of all ages suffer from depression, it is important to determine and address possible modifiable risk factors if we are ever to alleviate the overall global burden of these diseases. While obesity has been connected to cognitive health the evidence is still uncertain. Dietary factors have long been implicated in non-communicable disease risk. Consumption of specific dietary patterns may lead to decreases in adiposity and hence improve cognitive function and reduce the risk of neurodegenerative diseases. In order to address these concerns a comprehensive research program is proposed which conducts a series of studies investigating the relationship between obesity and changes to body weight with indicators of cognitive function as well as risk of dementia and depression. This will be done using data from the PREDIMED-Plus trial, one of the biggest milestone trials in nutrition research in Europe. Following this investigation a synthesis and comparison of dietary patterns in relation to body weight and risk of obesity will be conducted to determine potential strategies to reduce obesity, as well as potentially improve cognitive function. This research, specifically determining lifestyle related strategies, such as following a dietary pattern, has the potential to have significant local and global impact on health and our health care system.