The association of underweight to brain health and cognition in young adult females

• Project/Area Number: 26702030
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (A)
• Allocation Type: Partial Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Applied health science
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Kamijo Keita 早稲田大学, スポーツ科学学術院, 講師 (20508254)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
• Budget Amount: ¥24,050,000 (Direct Cost: ¥18,500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥5,550,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥2,470,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥570,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥2,470,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,900,000、Indirect Cost: ¥570,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥19,110,000 (Direct Cost: ¥14,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥4,410,000)
• Keywords: 女性 / やせすぎ / 脳 / 健康 / 学業成績 / 認知機能 / 事象関連脳電位 / 実行機能 / GPA / 認知科学 / 若年女性 / 脳の健康

Outline of Final Research Achievements

This study examined the association of underweight to academic achievement (GPA) and higher-order cognitive function, which was assessed by error-related negativity (ERN) of event-related brain potentials, in healthy undergraduate female students. Results indicated that underweight students exhibited lower GPA and smaller ERN amplitude relative to normal weight students, suggesting that being underweight is adversely related to cognitive and brain health. To my knowledge, this is the first study to show the association between underweight and cognitive health in young adult females.