Long-term outcomes of a Mediterranean diet with or without calorie restriction on cognition and cardiometabolic health: The building research in diet and cognition trial.

Objectives: The Building Research in Diet and Cognition Trial tested the short and long-term outcomes of an eight-month Mediterranean Diet lifestyle intervention with (MedWL) or without weight loss (MedA) via calorie restriction and physical activity, compared to a usual diet condition, on executive function, attention, information processing, learning, memory, and recognition. Short-term outcomes were measured shortly after the eight-month intervention and reported previously. The objective of this article is to report the long-term outcomes measured six months after the eight-month intervention. Methods: Participants were randomized to either MedWL ( Results: Participants were 91 % African American with mean age of 66 years and mean body mass index of 37.1 kg/m Conclusions: An eight-month Mediterranean Diet lifestyle intervention, with or without weight loss, followed by a six-month maintenance period did not change cognition relative to controls; however, the interventions improved Mediterranean Diet adherence and led to weight loss. These findings show that older, primarily African American adults can maintain Mediterranean Diet adherence and weight loss well after the end of a lifestyle intervention.