(NaturalNews) In a recent study from Britain, children with a higher intelligence quotient at age 10 were found to be more likely to become vegetarians later in life. In fact, people with an IQ of 110 were two-and-a-half times more likely to avoid eating meat, according to the lead author of the study.
Catherine Gale from the University of Southampton led the research team that studied more than 8,000 men and women. The team discovered that vegetarians were more likely to be women, belong to a higher social class, and have higher educational degrees. Gale added "If you are bright, you are more likely to understand health information, and more likely to act on it."
Earlier findings that indicated intelligence being associated with lower rates of heart disease were solidified with this new research study. In addition to the conclusions about more vegetarians being highly educated women, the study also concluded that some vegetarians act on purely ethical reasons when they give up meat.
The study, which started in 1970 and measured its participants at age 10, followed up on all its participants in the year 2000. When asked, about 4.5 percent of the study's participants said they were vegetarian.
The 366 participants who said they were vegetarian included vegans -- who eat no animal products, such as meat, dairy products, and eggs -- and people who called themselves vegetarians despite eating fish and chicken. The research team headed by Gale also stated that it was not clear how long participants had been vegetarians, or what relationship vegetarianism has to IQ scores.
The complete study was just published recently in the British Medical Journal trade publication, and notes that of the four researchers who worked on the study, two say they're "lapsed" vegetarians, one is a "committed" vegetarian, and one calls himself an "omnivore." Three of the researchers say they've never taken an IQ test. The omnivore researcher opted to not disclose his IQ, according to the published study.
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