Objective: Very few studies have conclusively demonstrated an association between the indices of adiposity and cognitive function. The objective of this study was to determine if there was indeed a correlation between the body mass index (BMI) and cognitive function in young south Indian male subjects.

Methods: The fifty participants who volunteered for this study were divided into five groups based on their BMI. Individuals with a BMI under 18.5 kg/m² were placed in the first group, those with a BMI between 18.5 to 22.9 kg/m² were placed in group two, individuals with a BMI between 23 to 24.9 kg/m² were in group three, subjects with a BMI between 25 to 29.9 kg/m² were included in group four and those with a BMI equal to and above 30 kg/m² were included in group five. The subjects were all required to complete a set of cognitive function tests that included letter cancellation (LC) and Digit symbol substitution test (DSST). Spearman’s Correlation Coefficient (ρ) was used to analyse the data.

Results: In Group two, there was a statistically significant negative correlation between the BMI and (ρ -0.474, p-value 0.022). There was a negative correlation between BMI and the DSST in groups 1,2,4 and 5 although it was not statistically significant (p>0.05).