Nutrition for a Healthy Aging Brain

Science for the Public: Contemporary Science Issues & Innovations
November 08, 2022, Belmont Media Center, Belmont MA

Susan B. Roberts, Ph.D. Team Leader, Energy Metabolism Lab at the USDA Nutrition Center, Tufts University; Professor of Nutrition, Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy; Professor, Psychiatry; Senior Staff Member in Pediatrics, Tufts University.

Professor Roberts believes that good nutrition can improve cognitive vitality at any age. In a study on a population of undernourished young children, she found that dietary corrections significantly improved the children’s cognitive ability. She is now launching a study on nutrition and the aging brain. In this case, she will target overweight adults 55 and older to test whether corrective nutrition and healthy weight management can prevent cognitive decline. In this discussion, Dr. Roberts explains the relationship between nutrition and brain health, and then describes the forthcoming study on diet and the aging brain: who can participate, how the nutritional component will be devised, and how the team of experts will analyze the results.