Dr. Mercola January 24 2008 35,148 views
New research suggests that women with an hourglass figure may on average be brighter and have more clever children.
A study found that women with large hips and small waists tend to be more intelligent than those with either “apple-shaped” or linear bodies. Such women may also tend to give birth to more intelligent children. One possible reason is the greater percentage of omega 3 fats found on the hips.
The study examined 16,000 women and girls, and found that women with a greater difference between the waist and hips scored significantly higher on cognitive tests, as did their children. Those with a waist-to-hip ratio between 0.6 and 0.7 achieved the highest scores.
Fat around hips and thighs holds higher levels of omega 3 fats, which are essential for the growth of the brain during pregnancy. Fat around the waist may have higher levels of omega 6 fats acids, which are less well suited to brain growth. Waist fat is also more likely to be a contributory factor in diabetes and heart disease.
Having a good waist-to-hip ratio is also better for your carotid arteries, which transport blood directly to your brain, and lowers your risk of a heart attack. In fact, it’s a better predictor of your chances of developing a heart attack than your overall weight. It had been theorized that a good waist-to-hip ratio was a marker of overall muscle mass; now it looks like the answer may be omega 3 fats.
Of course, it has long been known that omega 3’s have an effect on intelligence This is hardly surprising, since they are significant structural components of the cell membranes of your brain, as well as the retina, sperm, and other tissues throughout your body. Your brain is actually 60 percent structural fat, and an omega 3 deficiency can decrease membrane fluidity, which is essential for proper functioning of these tissues.
It is especially critical that infants receive adequate amounts of omega 3’s during fetal development, as well as after birth, until the biochemical development in the brain and retina is completed. Formula-fed infants have lower concentrations of omega 3’s in their brain than infants fed omega 3-rich human breast milk. They also have lower intelligence quotients.
And during pregnancy, both maternal stores and dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids are important to insure that the baby has adequate amounts of omega-3 fatty acids at the time of birth. Several studies have shown that when the maternal diet is deficient in omega-3 fatty acids, the infant at birth is likewise deficient.
But omega 3’s are not just crucial for pregnant women and their children; as the recent study above shows, your omega 3 levels affect you throughout your life, preserving your brain function as well as protecting you from cardiac risks and other problems.
But generally, most diets contain not only far too little omega 3, but far too much omega 6 fats. The ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fats has increased in industrialized societies because of increased consumption of vegetable oils. Experts suggest that in early human history the ratio of omega 6 to omega 3 fatty acids was about 1:1. Currently most Americans eat a dietary ratio that falls between 20:1 and 50:1.
I strongly recommend avoiding conventional sources of omega-6 fats such as sunflower, corn, soy, safflower, and canola oil, and products that contain these oils. This also means no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats, no margarine, no vegetable oil, and no shortening. These oils are mostly omega 6 fats and will only worsen your omega 6 to omega 3 ratio. It is not that they are at all toxic, although one might make an argument for those that are produced from GM foods, but the central issue is that if you are already consuming 10-20 times as much as you need any additional amounts of these fats will only worsen the problem.
Acceptable oils include high-quality extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocados, and organic butter... or better yet, grass-fed organic butter.
In addition to reducing your omega 6 intake, you will want to increase your omega 3 intake. Fatty fish would be the best source of omega 3, but unfortunately too many of them are tainted by deadly mercury. So I highly recommend taking krill oil as a good substitute.
In addition to making you smarter, it could also make you better looking!
seg-
Perhaps you mean excess fat in SOME areas. Or maybe "excess" means something different to everyone. I can tell you from personal experience that YEARS of intense exercise and dieting can not shrink a big butt if that is what nature gave a woman. The attempt to turn an hour glass figure into a different shape (say, one that fits into-off-the shelf jeans without a gap at the back of the waist) through crazy dieting and exercise can certain produce metabolic syndrome, hormone imbalance and weight gain later in life.
I agree with Mary, eat right and love whatever body shape you've got. Resistance is futile!
What is the IQ on the barfers and starvers? Are fat people healthier (emotionally and physically) then the people who are bulimic and/or anorexic? What about happier? That would an interesting study. Yes give us another study please.......
miragemama-
As a former barfer/starver I can assure you that not one is happy. It's part of the reason they starve and barf. As far as fat people go- some probably are and some probably aren't. For the most part, as it has been shown in previous articles on this site, happiness is a choice. But if you are doing something really destructive to yourself, you are deciding to be unhappy.
Miragemama:
My first reply. My old family doctor had a short paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine some years back that stated that many anorexic people actually carry around an abnormal (higher than normal) body fat. I also speak from experience. I look a bit thinner than the percent of body fat that I have personally carried around most of my adult life (Was 36-37% when last checked a couple of years ago) Rather frightening really when you try to figure out where I am carrying all this around. Thank goodness I have been working at this and am going to retest (hopefully soon).
Thank you all for your excellent replies. There is much food for thought. It is wonderful to have such a supportive network of people who have a great sense of humor.
Julie >^.^<~
PS I hope this goes to the right place :-)
To Julie and Julia,
I guess I would be considered a "fatty" since I have mostly been a size 14 all my life. I too look thinner then I am because my fat is spread around. Although after having a baby and being 40 my middle has emerged as the front runner on my body. Yes a pot belly....oh my. It might not be sexy for the man above but sexy is a state of mind, and attitude. For me to stay at my "ideal" weight of 150 with a smaller pot belly (169/170 now) I would have to exercise an hour or more a day, and probably just consume a can of Ensure a day. I am considered a Shape H on myshape.com, (finding clothing that fits your body type). Shape H.....how boring is that? I was hoping to come out as B, or X. Yes being too overweight or too thin by using extreme un-healthy measures is terrible for all of us. But the reality of life is that this is just another study that puts more pressure on women to achieve the hour glass figure via dieting and using plastic surgery. Have a tummy tuck for that belly. Oh and lay the guilt trip on us more by saying that the hour glass figure women will have smarter children. Give me a break. Smart children come from DNA, nurture,taking care of yourself and eating right, no matter what body shape you are. Geez I wonder what Marilyn Monroe's child would have been like if she had one.....possibly a genius? UGH! Julia is right that happiness is a state of mind no matter what shape or size you are.
I may be looking into this a bit too extensively, but if my research on fat has taught me anything, it's that we convert excess carbohydrate, fat and protein into body fat. To my knowledge, this body fat does not have a specific fatty acid profile, like omega 3 or omega 6. I highly doubt we store omega 3 fatty acids in our hips and omega 6 fatty acids around our middle. We take excess calories and turn it into body fat. Therefore, I cannot understand how a woman would be smarter due to a higher percentage of a specific fat around a specific site on her body. Body fat is body fat regardless of where it is stored.
Thank you for clearing out the facts for us.
Mercolapy:......
He didn't say it made the women more intelligent; read again, he said "the offspring, or children are more intelligent" of women that had an hourglass figure, and its just a study.....
I have an hour glass figure, all four of my daughters scored high on their SAT's and were great students, however, they were also all breastfed and weren't brought up on sweets and bread and were encouraged to LEARN in school.... .
As for me, I'm dumber than a box of hair, so it certainly didn't raise my IQ. LOL. Nuff said....
kfarias, you sound pretty intelligent to me...