Cognitive function and nutrition - OptimaMind

More than 50% of the adult population in Austria are affected by overweight or obesity, leading to an increased risk for diabetes mellitus type 2, diseases of the musculoskeletal system as well as cardiovascular diseases. Although weight reduction was demonstrated to improve health conditions, achievement remains challenging for most people. Historically, access to food was often sporadic, suggesting that time restricted eating is a natural part of life. While research studies have demonstrated time restricted eating to be an effective dietary approach to reduce body weight, additional, potentially beneficial effects on cognitive function and brain energy metabolism have not been thoroughly investigated yet. The OptimaMind project will bring together researchers from across Europe, who have been working on time restricted eating in the past or who have expertise in biomarker and cognitive function research. Blood samples of previously performed studies will be used to analyse changes in biomarkers of neuroprotection during time restricted eating interventions. This will help to better understand if restricting eating to a certain time window can help to improve cognitive function and might even play a role in dementia prevention. Centers and researchers involved: Harald Sourij, Prof. (Medical University of Graz, Austria) Antosiewicz Jedrzej, Prof. (Medical University Gdansk, Poland Project coordination) Dr. Konrad Kowalski, (Masdiag Sp. z. o. o., Warsaw, Poland Tiziana Bacchetti Prof. (Università Politecnica delle Marche, Ancona, Italy) Tõnis Timmusk Prof. (Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia)