McLaren Christian W, Pearl Rebecca L, Smith Glenn E, Anton Stephen D
Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, College of Public Health and Health Professions, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
Department of Physiology and Aging, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA.
Nutrients. 2025 Jun 22;17(13):2075. doi: 10.3390/nu17132075.
Postmenopausal women face a higher risk of obesity and related chronic diseases. While lifestyle interventions improve cardiometabolic health and physical function, their effects on cognitive function remain understudied, especially in diverse populations. This study examined the impact of a lifestyle intervention combining caloric restriction and exercise on cognitive function in a diverse sample of postmenopausal women with overweight or obesity and functional limitations.
This study represents a secondary analysis of a previously conducted pilot trial, in which 34 participants were randomly assigned to a 24-week intervention: (i) caloric restriction plus exercise (CR + E; n = 17) or (ii) educational control (EC; n = 17). In the CR + E group, participants engaged in group-based weight management focused on caloric restriction and three weekly exercise sessions, including walking and lower-body resistance training. The EC group attended monthly health education lectures. Changes in cognitive scores were assessed using the Digit Symbol Substitution Test (DSST) and the Controlled Oral Word Association (COWA) test. Additionally, we explored the correlation between changes in cognitive scores and physical function in the CR + E group.
In the CR + E group, DSST scores significantly improved compared to the EC group ( < 0.05). There were no significant changes in COWA scores for either group compared to their baseline value or between groups. Furthermore, changes in DSST or COWA were not significantly correlated with changes in walking speed or physical function.
The preliminary results of this study suggest that CR + E may improve complex attention in functionally limited postmenopausal women with overweight or obesity but does not appear to significantly affect verbal fluency.
绝经后女性面临更高的肥胖风险及相关慢性病风险。虽然生活方式干预可改善心脏代谢健康和身体功能，但其对认知功能的影响仍研究不足，尤其是在不同人群中。本研究考察了热量限制与运动相结合的生活方式干预对患有超重或肥胖且存在功能受限的绝经后女性多样化样本认知功能的影响。
本研究是对之前进行的一项试点试验的二次分析，34名参与者被随机分配至24周的干预措施中：（i）热量限制加运动（CR + E；n = 17）或（ii）教育对照组（EC；n = 17）。在CR + E组中，参与者参与基于小组的体重管理，重点是热量限制和每周三次运动课程，包括步行和下肢阻力训练。EC组参加每月一次的健康教育讲座。使用数字符号替换测试（DSST）和受控口语联想（COWA）测试评估认知分数的变化。此外，我们在CR + E组中探索了认知分数变化与身体功能之间的相关性。
与EC组相比，CR + E组的DSST分数显著提高（<0.05）。与基线值相比或两组之间，两组的COWA分数均无显著变化。此外，DSST或COWA的变化与步行速度或身体功能的变化无显著相关性。
本研究的初步结果表明，CR + E可能改善超重或肥胖且功能受限的绝经后女性的复杂注意力，但似乎不会显著影响言语流畅性。
