Consumption of a diet high in fat and sugar is associated with worse spatial navigation ability in a virtual environment.

backgroundThe Western diet is rich in saturated fats and refined sugars. Overconsumption of this diet can lead to obesity, metabolic and cardiovascular disease, as well as certain types of cancers. Evidence suggests that this diet also has adverse effects on cognitive function. Regular consumption of fats and sugars is associated with faster rates of age-related cognitive decline in middle age and older adults. Experimental studies using rodent models show that diets high in fats and sugars can impair brain functions, particularly in the hippocampus, affecting spatial learning and memory.

methodsThe current study tested the relationship between diet and spatial navigation ability in people using a virtual reality maze. Accurate performance in the maze requires participants to estimate distance and direction information to track self-referential positioning and remember landmark locations.

resultsWe found that young adults who frequently consumed foods high in fat and sugar were worse at remembering the location of a treasure chest in the virtual maze. Critically, this relationship remained after controlling for body mass index and performance on a non-spatial task.

conclusionsThe results highlight the impact of diet beyond traditional indicators of physical health, and reveal the specificity of the association between diet and spatial ability. These findings are consistent with those from animal studies and are the first to reveal the adverse effect of diet on spatial learning and memory in a task that requires navigation in three-dimensional space. The results confirm the importance of making healthy dietary choices for cognitive health.