Relationship of body composition and speed of cognitive processing in college students.

Introduction. There is a wide discussion about the role of body composition in the development of cognitive functions such as processing speed, especially on fat mass.
Furthermore, few studies that are being developed in Colombia, South America, have explored this relationship in college students from different areas of knowledge. Objective. To determine the relationship between cognitive processing speed (CPS) and body composition in college students from Bogotá D.C., Colombia. Material and methods. Cross-sectional descriptive and correlational study in a total sample of 122 apparently healthy male students (17 to 31 years old) from different areas of knowledge (72.1% from Physical Culture and 27.9% from other careers), belonging to private universities of the Capital District. Anthropometric parameters (height, weight, waist circumference (WC)), body composition variables (bioimpedance scale) were measured; CPS was assessed using the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT (60) -3”). Statistical analysis was performed using the IBM SPSS V. 25 software to calculate the results. Results. With a mean of 20.9 (3.4) years, a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 40.5% was identified in overweight and 4.1% in obesity. PASAT (60) -3”) was positively related to BMI, body fat percentage (% BF) and WC, negatively to muscle mass percentage (% MM) in the group of other races. However, the decreased CPS had a higher% CG, CC and% MM lower, compared to those who had a CPS within the expected (p = <0.05). Conclusion. Fat mass seems to influence the cognitive processing speed; however, this relationship does not follow a clearly defined pattern, it seems to behave in a curved way where extreme values could negatively affect said cognitive function. Apparently, healthier body composition can be beneficial for processing speed in college students.