Your mother was right: Eating fish does make you smarter. A Swedish study released on Monday found that eating fish regularly was linked to higher IQ levels in teenage boys.
“We discovered a clear connection between frequently eating fish and higher [teenage IQ] scores,” professor Kjell Toren, who led the study at the Sahlgrenska University Hospital in Gothenburg, said in a statement.
The study, published in this month’s issue of the child health journal Acta Paediatrica, examined the IQ scores, verbal abilities and spatial understanding of 3,972 Swedish boys in 2000 when they were 15 years old and again when they were conscripted in the military three years later.
Boys who at the age of 15 ate fish at least once a week on average scored 7 percent better on a general IQ test three years later, while those who ate fish more than once a week scored 12 percent higher, the study found.
“There was a clear connection between regular consumption of fish at the age of 15 and improved cognitive abilities at the age of 18,” said Maria Aaberg, who co-authored the report.
When it came to verbal abilities, 15-year-olds who ate fish once a week scored 4 percent higher than their peers in tests three years later, while those who ate fish more than once a week did 9 percent better.
As for spatial understanding, fish eaters did 7 percent and 11 percent better respectively in tests at the age of 15 and 18.
Fish is a direct source of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to be essential for cognitive development and normal brain functioning, and a number of international studies have shown that eating fish during pregnancy improves fetal intellectual development.
Other studies have found that fish consumption can slow cognitive decline in elderly people.
Aaberg said the Swedish study took into account variables such as ethnicity and the education levels of the boys’ parents.
The researchers have now begun examining whether consumption of particular types of fish has an impact on intellectual development.
Trinidad and Tobago declared a new state of emergency on Friday after authorities accused a criminal network operating in prisons across the country of plotting to kill key government officials and attack public institutions. It is the second state of emergency to be declared in the twin-island republic in a matter of months. In December last year, authorities took similar action, citing concerns about gang violence. That state of emergency lasted until mid-April. Police said that smuggled cellphones enabled those involved in the plot to exchange encrypted messages. Months of intelligence gathering led investigators to believe the targets included senior police officers,
FOREST SITE: A rescue helicopter spotted the burning fuselage of the plane in a forested area, with rescue personnel saying they saw no evidence of survivors A passenger plane carrying nearly 50 people crashed yesterday in a remote spot in Russia’s far eastern region of Amur, with no immediate signs of survivors, authorities said. The aircraft, a twin-propeller Antonov-24 operated by Angara Airlines, was headed to the town of Tynda from the city of Blagoveshchensk when it disappeared from radar at about 1pm. A rescue helicopter later spotted the burning fuselage of the plane on a forested mountain slope about 16km from Tynda. Videos published by Russian investigators showed what appeared to be columns of smoke billowing from the wreckage of the plane in a dense, forested area. Rescuers in
A disillusioned Japanese electorate feeling the economic pinch goes to the polls today, as a right-wing party promoting a “Japanese first” agenda gains popularity, with fears over foreigners becoming a major election issue. Birthed on YouTube during the COVID-19 pandemic, spreading conspiracy theories about vaccinations and a cabal of global elites, the Sanseito Party has widened its appeal ahead of today’s upper house vote — railing against immigration and dragging rhetoric that was once confined to Japan’s political fringes into the mainstream. Polls show the party might only secure 10 to 15 of the 125 seats up for grabs, but it is
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr is to meet US President Donald Trump this week, hoping Manila’s status as a key Asian ally would secure a more favorable trade deal before the deadline on Friday next week. Marcos would be the first Southeast Asian leader to meet Trump in his second term. Trump has already struck trade deals with two of Manila’s regional partners, Vietnam and Indonesia, driving tough bargains in trade talks even with close allies that Washington needs to keep onside in its strategic rivalry with China. “I expect our discussions to focus on security and defense, of course, but also
RSS