Researchers investigated whether consuming one avocado per day for six months could affect cognitive function in adults with central obesity.
The study was conducted as an ancillary project of the multicenter Habitual Diet and Avocado Trial (HAT), which examined the effects of avocado consumption on visceral adiposity. Cognitive outcomes were assessed among participants at the Loma Linda University study center.
A total of 251 participants with elevated waist circumference were randomly assigned either to consume one avocado per day (AVO) or avoid avocado consumption (CON) for six months. No additional dietary guidance was provided. Cognitive function was assessed at baseline and after the intervention period, including measures of memory, processing speed, executive function, simple reaction time, and working memory reaction time.
A total of 241 participants completed the trial. Participants were 69.7% female and 53.1% white, with a mean body mass index of 33.4 ± 5.7. Ages ranged from 25 to 84 years, with a mean age of 49.6 ± 13.3 years.
The results showed that working memory reaction time improved over the six-month period for all participants. However, researchers found no differences between the avocado and control groups across any of the cognitive domains measured.
The study also found no interaction between age and the intervention. Two-way interactions involving age and time, as well as the three-way interaction between age, time, and intervention group, were not statistically significant.
Researchers noted that avocados contain fiber, carotenoids, antioxidants, polyphenols, and monounsaturated fat, nutrients that have previously been associated with cognitive health.
However, the findings indicate that consuming one avocado per day for six months, without additional lifestyle modifications, did not alter cognitive function in adults with central obesity across the age groups included in the study.
The researchers concluded that further work is needed to determine whether avocados may contribute to healthy cognitive aging when incorporated into broader dietary strategies, particularly among normal-weight individuals and metabolically vulnerable populations.