Higher IQ links to being vegetarian

vegetarian - Higher IQ links to being vegetarian
China
February 26, 2007 5:38pm CST
Vegtarians are more intelligent ,according to a new study A study of thousands of men and women revealed that those who stick a vegtarian diet have IQs that are around five points higher than those who regularly eat meat. Writing in the British Medical Journal ,the researchers say it isn't clear why veggies are brainier -but admit the fruit and veg-rich vegetarian diet could somehow boost brain power. The researchers ,from the University of Southampton,tracked the fortunes of more than 8000 volunteers for 20 years. They found that those who were vegetarians by the age of 30 had recorded five points more on average at the age of 10 Further analysis of the results showed those who were brainiest as children were more likely to have become vegetarian as adults The typical adult veggie had a childhood IQ of around 105-around five points higher than those who continued to eat meat as they grew up. The vegeratians were also more likely to have gained degrees and hold down high-powered jobs, However ,these differences were not reflected in their annual income ,which was similar to that of non-vegetarians. There was no difference in IQ between strict vegerarins and those who clssed themselves as veggie but still ate fish or chicken, However ,vegans-vegetarians who also avoid dairy prouducts-scored significantly lower ,averaging an IQ score of 95 at the age of 10
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8 responses
@trinihd (996)
• United States
26 Feb 07
Interesting study! Thanks for sharing! I wonder what is the cause for vegans scoring significantly lower...it's a little odd. Is that supposed to be a sign that dairy is important? I don't know if I can buy that. And the fact that true vegetarians are not significantly different to those who eat fish just boggles my mind. Are there really people who call themselves vegetarian and eat chicken? How is that possible? I guess I can see how the fish-eating people might misconstrue their status because fish is very different from other flesh meats but I cannot understand how a chicken-eater could be considered a vegetarian. I would love to have a link to the published report if you can locate one. Thanks in advance!
• Australia
5 Mar 07
Yeah I too would love to read the published report where you attained this information from. The implications of your post are pretty significant. I need a good source about this so I can study further.
@year3399 (173)
• China
30 Mar 07
Many people claim bo be vegetarians even though ghey eat fish and chicken as if eating vegetables with dinner is "close enough"to classify as being vegetarians .
• United States
5 Mar 07
Ok lets think about this for a minute. If you are what you eat, then the vegitarians must be veggitables. If someone has no brain functions because of an acident they are called what???? Yes, that's right a veggitable, not a steak. I'm not saying anthing bad about vegitariens, in fact one of my very good friends is one. I just think it is a kind of funny thing to think about.
@MrNiceGuy (4141)
• United States
27 Feb 07
5 points is pretty insignificant, even if it were a real causation found by this study. I don't think smarter people choose to be vegetarians it just has to do with the kind of people that are able to make that decision. It's pretty ironic since meat eating was the original reason our brains grew larger and were able to function enough to become creative thoughtful humans.
26 Feb 07
I am a vegan. I have a degree and an IQ of over 130 so statistics don't really tell you anything.
• Australia
5 Mar 07
I am absolutely amazed by this information yet not surprised as I have recently converted to a strict vegetarian diet. I absolutly feel better in general, and almost as if I have more energy. This is a major point in my life where I am choosing to eat healthier and it feels great. My parents think I am crazy for doing it, but I dont care what they think.
@skyblade (482)
• United States
26 Feb 07
This study means nothing. Being that vegetarians are a smaller group as a whole than those who eat meat, the average means nothing. I'd be more interested in the median IQ scores. The meat eater category has to take into account a larger amount of people (including people with extremely low IQs).
@pilbara (1436)
• Australia
26 Feb 07
It seems to me that you are saying that the smartest of the children became vegetarians as adults, rather than those people who were beought up on a vegie diet became smarter than those who didn't. This is interesting but I don't really see it myself, as I don't see why there should be any difference between people who have a properly balanced diet. I find the statement about the vegans to be far more compelling.