Dietary choline is related to neural efficiency during a selective attention task among middle-aged adults with overweight and obesity

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Obesity is associated with poorer brain health and cognitive function. However, it is not clear whether specific dietary factors may provide neuroprotective effects among individuals with overweight and obesity. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of choline intake on neurophysiological markers of attentional control among young and middle-aged adults with overweight or obesity.

Methods: 146 adults with BMI ≥25 kg/m² (34.0 ± 5.9 years, 57 males) participated in the study. Behavioral performance (accuracy and reaction time) and neuroelectric indices (event-related brain potentials [ERPs]) of attentional inhibition were assessed during a Flanker task. Specifically, the amplitude and latency of the P3 waveform in a central-parietal region of interest (ROI) were used to index attentional resource allocation and information processing speed, respectively. Choline intake and overall diet quality (Healthy Eating Index [HEI-2015]) were assessed using 7-day diet records. Intelligence Quotient was assessed using the Kaufman-Brief Intelligence Test. Regression analyses were conducted to examine the relationship between habitual dietary choline intake and cognitive outcomes following adjustment of demographic factors, IQ, HEI-2015, and BMI.

Results: Choline intake was selectively associated with a lower peak amplitude of the P300 waveform during incongruent trials (β = −0.25, p = <0.01). No significant relationships were observed for accuracy or reaction time.

Discussion: Higher choline intake is associated with more efficient neural processing among adults with overweight and obesity. Intervention are necessary to determine whether choline consumption provides neuroprotective effects for executive function among individuals with elevated weight status.

KEYWORDS:

• Nutrition
• diet
• obesity
• cognition
• electroencephalography

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the undergraduate research team of the Body Composition and Nutritional Neuroscience laboratory.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by funds provided by the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Hatch project 1009249. Partial support was also provided by the Hass Avocado Board (Institutional Award Number 079273).

Notes on contributors

Caitlyn G. Edwards

Caitlyn G. Edwards, BS, is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Body Composition and Nutritional Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a PhD student in the Division of Nutritional Sciences. Her research interests surround the impacts of dietary components and patterns on cognition.

Anne M. Walk

Anne M. Walk, PhD, is a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Body Composition and Nutritional Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her background is in health behaviors that impact learning and executive function.

Corinne N. Cannavale

Corinne N. Cannavale, BS, is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Body Composition and Nutritional Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a PhD student in the Neuroscience Program.

Isabel R. Flemming

Isabel R. Flemming is an Undergraduate Research Technician in the Body Composition and Nutritional Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Sharon V. Thompson

Sharon V. Thompson, MS, RD, is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Nutrition and the Human Microbiome Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is a PhD candidate in the Division of Nutritional Sciences.

Ginger R. Reeser

Ginger R. Reeser, MS, RD, is a Research Specialist in the Body Composition and Nutritional Neuroscience Laboratory at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Hannah D. Holscher

Hannah D. Holscher, PhD, RD, is the Director of the Nutrition and Human Microbiome Laboratory and Assistant Professor of Nutrition in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Naiman A. Khan

Naiman A. Khan, PhD, RD, is the Director of the Body Composition and Nutritional Neuroscience Laboratory and Assistant Professor of Kinesiology in the Department of Kinesiology and Community Health at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.