Kids With High IQs Grow Up to Be Vegetarians

As a child's IQ rises, his taste for meat in adulthood declines, a new study suggests.

British researchers have found that children's IQ predicts their likelihood of becoming vegetarians(1) as young adults -- lowering their risk for cardiovascular(2) disease in the process. The finding could explain the link between smarts and better health, the investigators say.

"Brighter people tend to have healthier dietary(3) habits," concluded lead author Catharine Gale, a senior research fellow at the MRC Epidemiology Resource Centre.

Recent studies suggest that vegetarianism may be associated with lower cholesterol(4), reduced risk of obesity and heart disease. This might explain why children with high IQs tend to have a lower risk of heart disease in later life.

"We know from other studies that brighter children tend to behave in a healthier fashion as adults -- they're less likely to smoke, less likely to be overweight, less likely to have high blood pressure and more likely to take strenuous(5) exercise," Gale said. "This study provides further evidence that people with a higher IQ tend to have a healthier lifestyle."

In the study, Gale's team collected data on nearly 8,200 men and women aged 30, whose IQ had been tested when they were 10 years of age.

"Children who scored higher on IQ tests at age 10 were more likely than those who got lower scores to report that they were vegetarian at the age of 30," Gale said.

The researchers found that 4.5 percent of participants were vegetarians. Of these, 2.5 percent were vegan(6), and 33.6 percent said they were vegetarian but also ate fish or chicken.

There was no difference in IQ score between strict vegetarians and those who said they were vegetarian but who said they ate fish or chicken, the researchers add.

Vegetarians were more likely to be female, of higher social class and better educated, but IQ was still a significant predictor of being vegetarian after adjustment for these factors, Gale said.

英國研究人員發現小孩智商可以預示成年后變成素食者的可能性，也就是降低心血管疾病的幾率。研究人員說此項研究能夠解釋為什么聰明的人會更健康。

流行病信息中心高級研究員、本研究主要作者Catharine Gale說：“聰明的人一般選擇較健康的飲食習慣。”

最近的研究顯示素食有利于降低膽固醇吸收、減少肥胖和心臟病幾率。這也是為什么高智商的孩子在晚年不容易患心臟病的原因。

Gale說：“我們從其它研究中發現，聰明的孩子會和成年人一樣跟隨健康的流行趨勢，他們更不容易吸煙、更不容易肥胖、更不容易血壓高、卻參與更多的鍛煉。本研究將提供更多的證據證明智商高的人擁有更健康的生活方式。”

Gale和同事們搜集了近8200個30歲男女的資料，其中包括他們10歲時的智商記錄。

Gale說：“十歲時候智商較高的小孩在三十的時候更容易成為素食主義者。”

研究人員發現4.5%的受測者為素食者。其中2.5%為嚴格素食主義者，33.6%稱自己是素食者，但是吃魚和雞。

研究人員說這二者的智商并沒有差距。

Gale說，社會高層次受過良好教育的女性更容易成為素食者，但是智商也是重要因素之一。