Diet and lifestyle factors associated with cognitive performance in college students

Objective Engaging in a healthy diet and positive lifestyle behaviors have been shown to improve cognitive functioning in children and older adults, however, few have examined these factors in college-aged students. Participants: A diverse sample of 115 college students were recruited on two univers...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of American college health 2022-10, Vol.70 (7), p.2230-2236
Main Authors: Pilato, Ilana B., Beezhold, Bonnie, Radnitz, Cynthia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior change
Cognitive ability
Cognitive functioning
Cognitive performance
Cognitive Processes
Cognitive-behavioral factors
College Students
Computerization
Diet
Dietetics
Eating Habits
Executive Function
Fast food
Fish
Fluid intake
Food
Food consumption
Fruit
health
Hydration
Life Style
Lifestyles
Neuropsychology
Oral Language
Recall (Psychology)
Seafood
Stimuli
Student Behavior
Thinking Skills
Verbal memory
Visual Learning
Visual memory
Water
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Objective Engaging in a healthy diet and positive lifestyle behaviors have been shown to improve cognitive functioning in children and older adults, however, few have examined these factors in college-aged students. Participants: A diverse sample of 115 college students were recruited on two university campuses. Method: Completed computerized cognitive testing and an online survey about diet and lifestyle behaviors. Results: All analyses were conducted with Pearson's correlations. Higher fruit consumption was correlated with better visual memory scores. Higher seafood consumption was correlated with better learning performance. Increased fast food consumption was correlated with poorer executive functioning in resident students and poorer visual memory performance in commuter students. Increased fluid intake on testing day was correlated with better visual memory and better verbal memory performance. Conclusions: Behavioral changes such as increasing hydration, eating more fruit and fish, and eating less fast food may improve cognitive performance in college students.
ISSN:0744-8481
1940-3208
DOI:10.1080/07448481.2020.1847118