Neurocognitive Performance of African Americans and Hispanic Adults in Relation to Diet and Physical Activity: A Literature Review

Abstract

As minorities, African Americans (AAs) and Hispanic adults face enormous discrepancies across many dimensions, including race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, legal status, gender, insurance status, or severity of conditions. There is a lot of evidence in the literature about the relationship between lifestyle and cognitive functioning in older adults. However, due to the infancy of research in this area, the relationship between diet, physical activity and cognitive decline in ethnic minorities remains unclear. We discussed the neurocognitive changes associated with physical activity and/or dietary aspects in Hispanic and AA adults, and explored various factors that affect physical activity and dietary changes in this population. Our analysis confirmed the convincing link between certain dietary patterns, physical inactivity and poor cognitive performance in AA and Hispanic adults. This report allowed us to draw necessary conclusions regarding the structure of Jacobi Frailty Initiative in the Bronx, NY, USA.




J Neurol Res. 2020;10(3):56-68
doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jnr594