BMJ  2007;334:216-217 (3 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.39107.671412.80

Editorials

Childhood intelligence and being a vegetarian

Do bright children grow up to make healthy choices?

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Evidence increasingly suggests that intelligence is associated with health and survival,^{1 2 3} although the reasons for this are not fully understood. To varying degrees, intelligence could mediate the long term impact of early adverse circumstances (such as overcrowding), influence the acquisition of factors that protect health, and reflect underlying biological mechanisms that regulate health. A cohort study in this week's BMJ by Gale and colleagues⁴ assesses whether intelligence can influence the acquisition of protective factors. In a large representative population study of more than 8000 British men and women, intelligence in childhood was associated with a vegetarian diet in mid-adulthood, and this was independent of educational attainment and social class.⁴

So what do the results say about the relation between intelligence and personal values, and whether intelligence influences lifestyle choices that protect health? An analysis of five prospective studies found that vegetarians had a mortality rate 76% lower than that of . . . [Full text of this article]

¹ MRC National Survey of Health and Development, University College London, London WC1E 6BT

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IQ has nothing to do with vegetarianism

Ramakant Sharma
bmj.com, 5 Feb 2007 [Full text]