You probably already know that a high fat diet can lead to a host of physical problems, but did you know that it can lead to memory impairment as we age? A new study from Ohio State University has found that just three days on a high fat diet could crush your cognitive ability if you are a senior. Here’s the (not so) skinny.

A high fat diet is known to cause metabolic changes, and we know that obesity leads to health problems such as heart disease and diabetes, but even relatively healthy older individuals could suffer memory impairment after just three days on a diet consisting of 60% fat if a trial involving rats is anything to go by, and it usually is.

How Was the High Fat Study Carried Out?

Researchers fed groups of young and old rats with a high fat diet for terms lasting between three days to three months. They then compared the results with the groups that had been eating a lower fat diet.

What Were the Results of the High Fat Diet Study?

The scientists found that independent of age, all of the rats on the 60% fat diets took on gut inflammation and metabolic problems after three months, but the older rats performed poorly on memory tests and showed concerning inflammation levels in the brain too. Alarmingly, these mental side-effects were noticeable after just three days, although they were not present in the younger rats, meaning that as we age, a high fat diet could be more problematic to our cognitive health.

For reference, a McDonald’s Double Smoky BLT Quarter Pounder with Cheese or a Burger King Double Whopper with Cheese both consist of 60% fat.

The two types of memory that showed rapid decline on the high fat diets were contextual memory and cued-fear memory. Both of these are associated with dementia. “A departure from baseline inflammatory markers is a negative response and has been shown to impair learning and memory functions,” said Ruth Barrientos, who is an investigator in the Institute for Behavioral Medicine Research at The Ohio State University.

“These diets lead to obesity-related changes in both young and old animals, yet young animals appear more resilient to the high-fat diet’s effects on memory. We think it is likely due to their ability to activate compensatory anti-inflammatory responses, which the aged animals lack.”

In terms of humans, more work needs to be done to determine what age is high risk on a high fat diet as far as our memory is concerned, but since we already know that excessive fat intake is linked to poor health outcomes, the effects that it has on our brain is another reason to re-balance our diets. And, with this emerging knowledge, we may be able to improve our mental performance as we age by reducing a reliance on fast or fatty foods. It’s certainly food for thought.

There’s a reason you might feel like you’re constantly failing at this whole “health and fitness” thing. And no, it’s not because you lack willpower, discipline, or knowledge. It’s not because you’re “doing it wrong” or because you haven’t found the right workout, meal plan, or supplement stack.

It’s because the system is designed for you to fail. And keep failing.

Diet culture, a tool of the patriarchy, was never built to make you healthy, strong, or thriving. It was designed to keep you exhausted, hating your body, and endlessly distracted from what actually works.

Why? Because the worse your body image, the more likely you are to spend money on the millions of “solutions” the wellness industry has to sell you.

In short, the wellness industry’s goal is to make you a consumer for life, always chasing the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow instead of doing the things that actually work but don’t make them shit loads of money.

What is Diet Culture, Really?

Diet culture is a system of beliefs that worships thinness, equates it with health, and places morality on food and body size. It thrives on the false promise that if you just eat less, exercise more, and chase the ever-elusive “ideal body,” you’ll finally be happy, worthy, and accepted.

But here’s what diet culture doesn’t want you to know:

• Skinny is not the same as health.
• Losing weight won’t necessarily make you happier.
• The “health” industry is a multi-billion dollar machine profiting off your insecurities.

Diet culture has roots deep in racism, patriarchy, and capitalism. It was built on the idea that self-denial is virtuous, that larger bodies are inferior, and that women should remain small—physically, mentally, and emotionally. And now, in its modern form, it morphs into new disguises: wellness trends, biohacking fads, “clean eating” obsessions, and fat-burning workouts that leave you depleted rather than empowered.

The Cost of Believing the Lie

Let’s talk about what happens when you buy into diet culture’s rules:

1. You waste money on things that don’t work. Every year, people spend thousands of dollars on green powders, supplements, meal plans, weight-loss programs, and boutique fitness memberships that promise transformation but leave them burnt out and empty-handed.
2. You spend time obsessing over things that don’t really move the needle. Trying to eliminate all “chemicals” and “toxins” from your diet, doing “problem area” exercises to “snatch your waist” and “tone your thighs,” and following some influencer’s “hormone-balancing” protocol—meanwhile, you’re still exhausted, hungry, and wondering why nothing’s working.
3. You lose connection with your body. Diet culture teaches you to ignore hunger cues, skip meals, focus purely on calorie burn, and override what your body actually needs. It tells us to mindlessly follow strict rules and relentlessly pursue “optimization” to the point where there’s no joy or spontaneity in life.
4. You get caught in the burnout cycle. Extreme workouts, food restriction, and the relentless pursuit of weight loss create a vicious cycle of exhaustion and self-blame. White-knuckling your way to health won’t work. If you can’t keep doing it, it can’t help you in the long-term.

And the worst part? None of this crap makes you stronger, more resilient, or more capable. In fact, most of it will only lead you further from physical and mental health.

The Alternative: Work Smarter, Not Harder

If you want real health, real strength, and real energy, you have to reject diet culture’s bullshit and focus on what actually works:

• Train for strength and durability. Stop chasing calorie burn and start lifting, sprinting, hopping, and moving in ways that make you more resilient.
• Eat for energy and performance. Ditch the obsession with slashing calories, cutting carbs, demonizing foods you enjoy, and “clean eating” and instead focus on fueling your body properly.
• Prioritize recovery and sleep. The most overlooked, most effective tools for real health. If you’re not getting enough rest, a cold plunge or green powder isn’t going to make a difference in your life.
• Play the long game. Real results don’t come from quick fixes. They come from consistent, intelligent, REPEATABLE effort over time.

The Forecast: We’re in a New Era of Women’s Health

For decades, women have been sold the same recycled diet culture garbage—just wrapped in new, more palatable packaging. But it’s clear we’ve entered a new era.

More women are rejecting diet culture and demanding better. They want strength, endurance, and vitality. They want training that builds them up instead of breaking them down. They want nutrition that supports their energy instead of depleting it.

And it’s time we demand the wellness industry change by rejecting their body-shaming, “get skinny at any cost” approach to marketing and the development of “solutions” that aren’t likely to make any difference in our lives—except perhaps lightening our wallets.

Your Choice: Keep Playing the Game or Opt Out

So here’s the real question: Are you ready to stop playing the game that was designed for you to lose? Are you ready to shift your focus to the things that actually matter—your strength, your energy, your resilience?

If you’re nodding along, if this is hitting home, then welcome. You’re exactly where you need to be.

And come check out our 1:1 and group coaching programs at Miles To Go Athletics where the principles outlined in this piece are our core tenets and are integrated into every aspect of our coaching and our community.

Because we don’t have to do diet culture. We can do strong, capable, and unshakeable.

The choice is yours. Are you in? —Alison

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Alison Heilig is the Editor-in-Chief at FBG and Head Hypewoman at Miles To Go Athletics. She divides her time between running, lifting, hiking with her dogs, snuggling with her dogs, and supporting strong women in the world (and coaching up those who aspire to be). You can find and connect with her on IG @itsalisonheilig.