While the cross-sectional design of our study prevents definitive conclusions about causality and the direction of the associations depicted here, it is worth noting that research conducted in both animals and humans described short-term effects of Western-type dietary habits on hippocampal-dependent learning and memory. In animals, it is well established that a WD causes rapid impairments of hippocampal-based tasks, with diet-related cognitive effects observed after only 72 h . Studies in humans are limited but they confirm that a WD impacts hippocampal memory tasks following a relatively short exposure. Healthy 20-year-old college students from Australia consuming a HFS breakfast (30% saturated fats plus 18% refined sugars), over four consecutive days, showed significantly poorer memory recall compared to control students consuming a healthier breakfast of similar palatability and food types, but significantly lower in saturated fats and refined sugars (5% saturated fats plus 10% sugars). Since these changes in memory performance were linked to shifts in blood glucose across breakfast, authors suggest that this could be one potential mechanism by which a WD affects hippocampal function . In a similar manner, in sedentary men aged 25–45 years, Edwards et al. found decreased power of attention and increased simple reaction time after seven days of consuming a diet comprising 74% kcal. from fat . It is less clear for how long the cognitive effects of a WD will remain and, thus, further investigations should address that question. Although experimental studies in humans show that improvements in memory can occur following reductions in energy intake and fat , or shift to a diet low in saturated fats and refined sugars , observational longitudinal studies conducted in Anglo-Saxon countries suggest that unhealthy dietary practices in developmental periods have a lasting association with cognitive and educational outcomes that seem to persist over time, regardless of later changes in diet .