Body mass index and cognitive functioning decline: Exploring the relationship

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Cognitive functions may play an important role in the management of obesity by promoting compliance towards lifestyle-related behaviours. This study aimed to identify cognitive deficits among adults and examine their association across different Body Mass Index (BMI) categories in an Indian setting. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study is a cross-sectional survey of a sample attending a tertiary care hospital in northern India. The Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) scale was administered as part of an interview schedule to evaluate participants’ cognitive performance across eight domains. The responses were analyzed to investigate the association between BMI and total MoCA scores, as well as domain-specific MoCA scores. RESULTS: Three hundred forty-nine participants, with a mean age of 36.9 ± 10.9 years and a BMI of 26.7 ± 4.6 kg/m2, were recruited. BMI was found to be significantly associated with the total MoCA score, indicating a negative relationship (P < 0.001). A significant negative association was found between six domain-specific scores, namely visuospatial, attention, language, abstraction, delayed recall (P < 0.001), orientation (P < 0.05), and BMI. CONCLUSION: An association between BMI and cognitive functioning (both overall and domain-specific) was observed, showing a dose-effect relationship. In these cases, visuospatial, attention, language, abstraction, delayed recall, and orientation were found to be affected.