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Can Obesity Lower Your IQ
Obesity is
considered a fatal condition in which the natural reserve of energy that
has been deposited in the fatty tissues of humans is of such a high
level that it increases the chances for developing a host of serious
health problems such as cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, high
blood pressure, elevated cholesterol, sleep apnea, diabetes, and osteoarthritis. It is such a condition
in which body mass index, one of the prominent methods to calculate
body fat using your height and weight, is more than 30. Among the causes
for obesity are smoking, lack of exercise, a genetic predisposition
towards being overweight, unhealthy eating habits, overeating and
several other environmental as well as biological factors. According to
certain studies conducted by teams from such institutions as the
University of Florida and the Toulouse University School of
Medicine in France, obesity can tremendously lower your IQ, apart from
forming a major reason for several other aforesaid chronic health
disorders.
The French
team at Toulouse University conducted a study by monitoring
the relationship between the BMI and the capability to think, learn, and
remember, with people between the ages of 30 and 60. Initially, the
participant's height and weight were recorded, and later they were
subdivided into five groups. These participants further underwent a
series of tests, such as cognitive skills, memory tests, selective
attention tests, and word-list learning tests. Eventually, the studies
revealed that people with a high body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more
scored much lower on memory tests, as well as other mental ability tests.
Further, researchers also found that people with a body mass index of
20 or less scored much higher when compared to the heavier participants, and they could
easily remember the majority of words in vocabulary tests.
As per the
research conducted at the University of Florida, the studies revealed
that there is a direct link between morbid obesity in toddlers and a
lower IQ. Researches were conducted with 18 adults and 18 children
with morbid obesity. Studies were also carried out with
children and adults with Prader-Willi syndrome, a genetic disorder that
causes people to overeat and become obese at a very young age, as well as
normal weight siblings and lean siblings. As the studies concluded the
results showed that Prader-Willi
patients scored an average IQ of 63, while people with early onset obesity scored an IQ of 78. In the case of
the control groups, the IQ was
106.
The
University of Florida
researchers also conducted MRI scans on the participants, which in turn
helped to discover white-matter lesions on the brains of subjects with Prader-Willi as well as patients with early onset obesity, similar white-brain lesions and cognitive delays
are found in
Alzheimer’s patients and children with phenylketonuria. These lesions are harmful for
the brain, as it causes a tendency to over eat, both in children and
adults.
It is
evident that being obese may adversely
affect your IQ as well as your physical health and lifestyle. Prevention
is considered the primary step in avoiding obesity. Regular and effective exercise is one of
the best ways to prevent obesity. Exercise enhances your metabolism and
burns calories, thereby allowing you to lose weight. A regular diet of
healthy food, consisting of several small meals consumed throughout the
day, is regarded as the next step in preventing obesity.
In other words,
regular exercise coupled with an intake of healthy food not only safeguards
you from chronic ailments such as heart disease, dementia, diabetes,
stroke and osteoarthritis, but also slows down mental
aging. Above all, proper exercise and a healthy diet reduces the chances
for premature death.
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