Although the results of research done on matters such as how a woman’s weight affects her intelligence level are usually correlational (meaning there are relating factors, but one thing does not directly cause the other), I find it extremely refreshing to see news reports that suggest a healthy weight actually does have positive benefits.

The most recent study comes from scientists at the University of Pittsburgh and the University of California, Santa Barbara, who used data from a study of 16,000 women and girls. Details of their body measurements and their scores in cognitive tests were collected.

The results? Women with a greater difference between the waist and hips scored significantly higher on the tests, as did their children.

These findings are great, but how can this actually be true?

Slate does a wonderful job of breaking down the different theories and showing why they are just that–theories, and their take on it is copied below.

Theories:
1) Hip fat contains omega3 acids, which promote “growth of the brain during pregnancy” and “could improve the woman’s own mental abilities,” whereas waist fat has more omega6 acids, “which are less suited to brain growth.”
2) Teen mothers produce dumber kids because they’re thinner and deficient in omega3. 3) Men like curvy women due to “the double enticement of both an intelligent partner and an intelligent child.” Read More »