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Intelligence and obesity: which way does the causal direction go?
1Department of Management, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.
Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Obesity
|August 8, 2014
Summary
Lower intelligence increases obesity risk, not the other way around. Longitudinal studies consistently show that reduced cognitive function predicts future body mass index gains and obesity development.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Epidemiology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- A negative association between intelligence and obesity is well-documented.
- The causal direction of this relationship remains debated.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent studies examining the causality between intelligence and obesity.
- To differentiate findings from cross-sectional versus longitudinal data.
Main Methods:
- Systematic review of recent literature on intelligence and obesity.
- Analysis of studies utilizing both cross-sectional and prospectively longitudinal data.
Main Results:
- Cross-sectional studies often incorrectly infer that obesity impairs intelligence.
- Prospectively longitudinal studies consistently demonstrate that lower intelligence predicts increased Body Mass Index (BMI) and obesity.
- Evidence from Sweden, New Zealand, and the UK supports a causal link from lower intelligence to obesity.
Conclusions:
- Previous conclusions of obesity impairing cognitive function arise from misinterpreting cross-sectional data.
- High-quality, longitudinal data firmly establish that lower intelligence is a risk factor for developing obesity.
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