Are "Brainier" Men Healthier?

Credit: catsquared
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A rather fascinating article by Ewen Callaway in New Scientist Magazine probes the topic - "Brainy Men May be Healthier Men". Could intelligence be linked to better heath for men? Here's an excerpt from the article with both sides of the story:

"A new study of 3654 Vietnam War veterans finds that men with lower IQs are more likely to suffer from dozens of health problems – from hernias, to ear inflammation, to cataracts – compared with those showing greater intelligence.
This offers tantalising – yet preliminary – evidence that health and intelligence are the result of common genetic factors, and that low intelligence may be an indication of harmful genetic mutations.

"It poses the question to epidemiologists: why is it that intelligence is a predictor for things that seem so very far removed from the brain," says Rosalind Arden, a psychologist at King's College London, who led the study.

One obvious counter-argument is that intelligent people make healthier choices. "You could say: 'look, brighter people make better health decisions – they give up smoking when they find it's bad for you, they take up exercise when they find out its good for you, and they eat a lot of salad'," Arden says."

Intrigued? Read the full article here.