A Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) has emerged as a crucial dietary choice, not only in attenuating various adolescents’ metabolic health issues but it has also been associated with improved cognitive and academic achievement. However, few studies have established patterns of food consumption linked to both cognitive and academic achievement in adolescents living in a developing country with non-Mediterranean-based food. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 1296 Chilean adolescents (50% girls) aged 10–14 years. The MedDiet Quality Index was used to assess adherence to the MedDiet in children and adolescents. Through cluster analysis, four distinct dietary patterns were identified: Western diet (WD = 4.3%); low fruit and vegetables, high-sugar diet (LFV-HSD = 28.2%); low fruit and vegetables, low-sugar diet (LFV-LSD = 42.2%); and the MedDiet (25.3%). A mixed-model analysis was conducted to compare these clusters and their relationships with cognitive and academic achievements. Principal component analysis was performed to identify four primary cognitive domains: working memory, cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and fluid reasoning. Academic achievement was determined with five school subjects (Language, English, Mathematics, Science, and History) and included the Academic-PISA score derived from the mean scores in Language, Mathematics, and Science. Results: A marked difference was observed between the four clusters, which was mainly related to the consumption of sugar, ultra-processed foods, fruits, and vegetables. According to cognitive performance, the MedDiet group showed higher performance across all domains than the LFV-HSD, LFV-LSD, and WD groups. Regarding academic achievement, the WD underperformed in all analyses compared to the other groups, while the MedDiet was the unique profile that achieved a positive difference in all academic subjects compared to the WD and LFV-HSD groups (p < 0.05). Conclusions: These findings suggest that higher adherence to Mediterranean-style-based patterns and better food quality choices are associated with improved cognitive and academic achievements.

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) can be diagnosed using cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers reflecting amyloid and tau pathology. However, it provides no information about functional network status. We aimed to determine whether CSF biomarkers (Aβ42, p-Tau, t-Tau, and Aβ42/p-Tau ratio) are associated with altered stimulus differentiation in vergence and pupil responses during an oddball task, and to evaluate oculomotor metrics as predictors of CSF core AD biomarkers in patients at mild cognitive impairment (MCI) stage. Methods: Thirty-eight participants with abnormal CSF core AD biomarkers at MCI stage completed a visual oddball task while oculomotor responses were recorded. Linear mixed-effects models examined condition × biomarker interactions, controlling for sex, age, and MMSE. Temporal and magnitude features were tested as predictors using linear regression. Results: Higher p-Tau levels were negatively associated with target-distractor differentiation in cognitive vergence (β = -0.035, p < 0.001) and pupil responses (β = - 0.060, p < 0.001). Higher Aβ42 and Aβ42/p-Tau showed positive associations with vergence differentiation but opposite effects on pupil responses. Oculomotor features predicted p-Tau levels (R ² = 0.20–0.21). Conclusion: Oculomotor differentiation metrics capture functional signatures of tau-related network dysfunction, positioning them as accessible biomarkers complementing CSF measures for detecting network disruption at MCI stage.

Propósito: Determinar patrones en la paradoja “Fat but Fit” y su impacto en el rendimiento cognitivo y logro académico en adolescentes chilenos. Esta paradoja sugiere que una mayor condición física puede mitigar los efectos negativos del exceso de adiposidad. Métodos: Estudio transversal, parte del Proyecto Cogni-Acción, incluyó 1,296 adolescentes (10-14 años). Se identificaron patrones de adiposidad/condición física mediante análisis de clases latentes y se evaluaron dominios cognitivos y calificaciones académicas. Resultados: Se encontraron diferencias significativas y positivas en las puntuación cognitiva global y puntuación académica entre adolescentes “thin-fit” versus “unfit” (“thin-unfit” y “fat-unfit”, p = .023 y p = .007, respectivamente) y “thin-fit” versus “fat” (“fat-fit” y “fat-unfit”, p = .028 y p < .001, respectivamente). Conclusión: Una mayor condición física se asocia con mayor rendimiento cognitivo, mientras que menor adiposidad a un mayor logro académico. La paradoja “Fat but Fit” podría influir de manera diferenciada en estos resultados.

In this study, we investigated the impact of a 10-week free weight resistance training (RT) program on cognitive function in healthy young adults. In this randomized controlled trial, 18 participants were assigned to either an experimental or control group. We assessed cognitive function by using eye-tracking (ET) technology during text processing tasks. First-pass reading times (FPRTs) and total reading times (TRTs) were measured. Results revealed a significant three-way interaction between group, moment, and syntactic complexity in FPRTs, demonstrating training effects on cognitive processing. The experimental group showed a distinctive shift in processing patterns: from longer times in low complexity pre-intervention to increased times in high complexity post-intervention, particularly in early processing measures (FPRTs). Complementary analyses of strength improvements showed that increased strength was associated with enhanced attention allocation to complex structures and improved processing efficiency for simpler texts, suggesting RT’s potential to modulate cognitive function.

Meeting the recommendation of 60 minutes of daily physical activity for children and adolescents yields significant health benefits. In Latin-merican and the Caribbean, 39.1% of the population does not meet physical activity guidelines; specifically, 34.3% of males and 43.7% of females fall below the recommended levels. This study aims to identify school-based physical activity interventions aligned with the socioecological model that involve parents in Latina merican contexts. A systematic search was conducted across four databases—PubMed, Web of Science (WOS), Scopus, and ScienceDirect—for articles published between January 2014 and April 2024. A total of 198 studies were identified (78 from PubMed, 22 from WOS, 31 from Scopus, and 67 from ScienceDirect). After removing 20 duplicates, 167 articles were excluded based on title and abstract screening. One study was excluded. It focused on sedentary behavior, and another aspect was its consideration of dietary habits, resulting in a final inclusion of 9 studies. The included studies were published between 2014-2024, with intervention durations ranging from 10 weeks to 28 months and sample sizes from 50 to 3,592 participants. The studies were conducted in Ecuador, Colombia, Mexico, and Brazil. Interventions adopted both individual and environmental approaches, targeting outcomes such as physical activity, sedentary behavior, screen time, health education, nutrition, and alcohol and tobacco use. The reviewed intervention demonstrated positive effects on increasing physical activity and reducing sedentary behaviors. Family members, peers, friends, and teachers emerged as key sources of support for promoting health-enhancing behaviors, consistent with an ecological framework for health promotion.