The role of nutrition in secular increases in intelligence
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Nutrition, particularly high-quality protein, influences body height, head circumference, and intelligence.
“Improved prenatal and postnatal nutrition may also have contributed to the secular increase in intelligence test scores as nutrition, particularly high-quality protein, influences the makeup of the human body, such as body height, head circumference, and intelligence [20, 23–25] and we observed simultaneous increases in body height and intelligence.”
From The secular trend of intelligence test scores: The Danish experience for young men born between 1940 and 2000 (2021) · cites this paper as [24]
Suboptimal prenatal and postnatal nutrition reduces body height, head circumference, and intelligence, while improvements in nutrition positively influence the human body, including brain development and functioning.
“While suboptimal prenatal and postnatal nutrition has been found to reduce body height, head circumference, and intelligence, improvements in nutrition on the other hand have a positive influence on the human body, including the development and the functioning of the brain [23, 24].”
From The secular trend of intelligence test scores: The Danish experience for young men born between 1940 and 2000 (2021) · cites this paper as [24]
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- Authors
- Lynn, R.
- Affiliations
- University of Ulster (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Lynn, Richard
- ORCID
- Lynn, Richard
- Venue
- Personality and Individual Differences
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1990-01
- Volume
- 11
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 273-285
- ISSN
- 0191-8869 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2021547597
- Cited by
- 180
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 4 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 7
- FWCI
- 9.41
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Personality and Individual Differences (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health › Birth, Development, and Health
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Child Nutrition and Water Access
- Keywords
- nutrition, brain size, head circumference, height, brain development, brain function, nutritional status, cognitive development
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