Baby Got Back . . . And Brains

[slyc_willie]

From the Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior:

Key Points of the Research that Concludes that Woman with Curvy Hips Have Smarter Babies:

- Waist-hip ratio is a way to calculate how much fat a woman stores on her hips.

- Children who scored the highest in cognition tests were offspring of wide-hipped mothers who had low waist-hip ratio. Researchers theorize that fetuses benefit from "a rich supply of useful fatty acids." Mothers who lack full hips are deficient in said nutrients.

- A majority of teenage mothers do not have as much fat storage on her hips. In these instances, mother and baby often are in competition for these important fatty acids. This may impact the cognitive development of teenage mothers' babies. However, teenage moms who have a lower waist-hip ratio may aid their child's cognitive development.

- In contrast, upper-body fat of the mother has a negative influences on cognitive ability in her children.

- Researchers suggested that this may be an explanation as to why men prefer curvy hips. Darwin's Theory of Survival of the Fittest declares itself through the female body.

*********

Thoughts?

 

[Guest]

Thoughts?

Yes!

 

[neonlyte]

A lot of assumptions there and easy to pinpoint the exception to the rule. And where does breast feeding fit in? Surely transgenic (?) fats are transferred teat to lip. I'm sure my creative side comes from the fact that my wife still (marginally) lactates 27 years after birthing our daughter - see, the meds are wearing off

 

[Caitano]

I thought you got that way from eating fish-- it worked for Jeeves.

 

[jomar]

Hmm...so big tits, slim hips = dumb kids?

 

[fieryjen]

Are breasts really what is meant by "upper body fat"?

At least I've got that advertised low waist-hip ratio. Um... yay?

 

[Caitano]

Damn right, yay.



It works both ways, too. Intelligent men understand the virtue of good hips.

 

[3113]

Another ones of those that I'd like to know:
1) How big was the sample in the research (how many moms and kids?)
2) How varied was the sample? (where did they give the test and to whom? Rich and poor kids? Kids in both Europe and Africa and Asia?)
3) What do they mean by a cognition test and why it was used to indicate intelligence (just what do they mean by smart?).
4) Just how much less "smart" were kids born to women with narrow hips?

I'm a wee bit skeptical of this conclusion all-in-all.

 

[Guest]

From the Journal of Evolution and Human Behavior:


- Researchers suggested that this may be an explanation as to why men prefer curvy hips. Darwin's Theory of Survival of the Fittest declares itself through the female body.

*********

Thoughts?

Do they? Cause all those girls on tv...they might look like they hav'em, but they don't!

Maharat

 

[jomar]

Are breasts really what is meant by "upper body fat"?

At least I've got that advertised low waist-hip ratio. Um... yay?

Shh. Keep it to yourself, but I doubt it. However, this IS Lit so I had to go there, ya know?

 

[fieryjen]

Shh. Keep it to yourself, but I doubt it. However, this IS Lit so I had to go there, ya know?

Well... my mom has the required no breasts at all combined with broad hips. And I'm totally schmart. So that proves it, right?

I inherited my "upper body fat" from my dad's side of the family.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

Well... my mom has the required no breasts at all combined with broad hips. And I'm totally schmart. So that proves it, right?

I inherited my "upper body fat" from my dad's side of the family.

My mother has hips and boobs, so one day I feel smart and the next I feel like a dumbass.

Thanks mom, you're ruining christmas!

 

[fieryjen]

My mother has hips and boobs, so one day I feel smart and the next I feel like a dumbass.

Thanks mom, you're ruining christmas!

Apparently my kids will be just the same.

 

[TheeGoatPig]

"That's one hell of a brilliant idiot!"

 

[thebullet]

My wife has very slim hips --- she still weighs about 100 lbs. My son has an IQ of 165. Perhaps the exception to the rule?

Or maybe the whole thing is a bit of a stretch.

 

[slyc_willie]

I'd say it's all a bit of a stretch.

This study was released only about a week ago, although one almost exactly like it, I understand, was conducted in 2002. My local radio talk show host brought this up on his program, debating the pros and cons of the research.

Evidently, the focus of the study was on the amount of Omega-3 acids stored in fat that is then transferred to the baby in the womb. However, too much supposedly leads to production of Omega-6 acids that are then also transferred to the fetus.

Omega-3, good.

Omega-6, bad.



Personally, I've never heard of Omega-6 fatty acids, but then, I'm no biologist.

I only pointed this out to see what the reaction would be. Personally, I don't feel that a woman with a 22-inch waist and 38-inch hips is necessarily going to have a smarter kid than Plain jane with her 27-inch waist and 34-inch hips. It has more to do with overall diet and the environment in which the baby is raised, I think, that determines the child's eventual intelligence.

 

[Just-Legal]

I'd say it's all a bit of a stretch.

This study was released only about a week ago, although one almost exactly like it, I understand, was conducted in 2002. My local radio talk show host brought this up on his program, debating the pros and cons of the research.

Evidently, the focus of the study was on the amount of Omega-3 acids stored in fat that is then transferred to the baby in the womb. However, too much supposedly leads to production of Omega-6 acids that are then also transferred to the fetus.

Omega-3, good.

Omega-6, bad.



Personally, I've never heard of Omega-6 fatty acids, but then, I'm no biologist.

I only pointed this out to see what the reaction would be. Personally, I don't feel that a woman with a 22-inch waist and 38-inch hips is necessarily going to have a smarter kid than Plain jane with her 27-inch waist and 34-inch hips. It has more to do with overall diet and the environment in which the baby is raised, I think, that determines the child's eventual intelligence.

My kids are doomed then - 3/4 of the Omega 3 products available in the UK either contain fish or shellfish, and I'm hellaciously allergic to both.

*sigh*

 

[starrkers]

I wonder what the relative intelligence of the parents was to begin with. Are kids born to wide hipped mums "smart" as in smarter than their parents or "smart" as in smarter than average?
I had wide hips and small waist BC (guess it still kinda applies, there's just more of both now). All three of my kids are top of their class when they can be bothered. But I'm no fool and neither is my husband.

But maybe the reason the kids don't always top their class is because of my "upper body fat" (of which I have far more than I need )?

 

[slyc_willie]

I wonder what the relative intelligence of the parents was to begin with. Are kids born to wipe hipped mums "smart" as in smarter than their parents or "smart" as in smarter than average?
I had wide hips and small waist BC (guess it still kinda applies, there's just more of both now). All three of my kids are top of their class when they can be bothered. But I'm no fool and neither is my husband.

But maybe the reason the kids don't always top their class is because of my "upper body fat" (of which I have far more than I need )?

The study did indicate that there was a correlation between hip-waist ratio and the intelligence of the mother. Not causality, just correlation.

But I'd suggest that the reason those women were more intelligent, and had smaller waists in proportion to their hips, was because they were more active. They didn't sit on the couch eating potato chips all day.

 

[jomar]

Well... my mom has the required no breasts at all combined with broad hips. And I'm totally schmart. So that proves it, right?

[/COLOR]

Yayuh.