Ransom Riggs
Fatter is dumber?
by Ransom Riggs - December 12, 2006 - 1:08 PM
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… or at least it seems to be in lab mice. Researchers at Yale’s medical school have discovered that mice who take tests while hungry do significantly better than sated mice. They process information faster, they retain it longer; basically, they’re smarter. The culprit seems to be the hormone grellin, produced by the lining of the stomach when empty. It binds not only to that part of the brain which registers hunger (the hypothalamus) but to the researchers’ surprise, to the memory and learning centers of the brain, as well (the hippocampus).

“It makes sense,” researcher Tamas Horvath says. “When you are hungry, you need to focus your entire system on finding food in the environment.” Many biologists believe that this is how human intelligence formed, too: out of munchies-stimulated necessity. (You might refer to our blog on how much being a Neanderthal sucked.) This raises some interesting questions: is there any relation between the increasing girth of our schoolkids and their decreasing test scores? (Someone’s going to have to skip lunch in order to find out.)

The researchers do offer some practical advice (for humans) based on their mouse tests: when taking a test or doing an interview, don’t load up on “brain food” before you go in. Be a little hungry throughout, and maintain that level of hunger with a light snack here and there. (I know if I’m too hungry, I get grumpier, not smarter.) Can you imagine taking the SAT right after loading up on Thanksgiving turkey? Me, neither.

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Comments (15)

  1. “Munchies-stimulated necessity”….yup that pretty much sums it up for me.

    posted by nick on 12-12-2006 at 1:49 pm

  2. All the advice my mother gave me was wrong! :P
    This might also be the reason why the most intelligent of us seem to have social and emotional issues.
    The geek that is unable to ask for a date without throwing up is not likely to have a heavy meal before a stressful exam either.
    But heavier people tend to be a lot more calm all the time and more socially adept too.

    posted by ilandrah on 12-12-2006 at 7:00 pm

  3. O.k., geniouses, does this mean we should stop funding subsidized school breakfasts? . . . .

    posted by Connie McKinney on 12-13-2006 at 7:45 am

  4. Duhh.. I’m Fat!

    posted by hippocampus on 12-13-2006 at 11:47 am

  5. Sorry Connie, you must have eaten too much breakfast this morning, because you spelled “geniuses” wrong! But you make an interesting point about subsidized school breakfasts – I still think the answer is no, because I can’t believe starvation is good for functioning at school.

    posted by Suzy on 12-13-2006 at 12:38 pm

  6. They talk about detail retention, but not attention span. A full belly helps me stay on target, and not brown-out from low blood sugar. More research needed.

    posted by Natty Bumppo on 12-13-2006 at 1:52 pm

  7. Is this why I scored so much higher on my SAT’s the day I overslept and didn’t have time for breakfast? I was finishing every section in half the allotted time (ok, I need the full time on some of the math sections) then fantasizing about what I could be eating. My stomach was growling the whole time, and I ended up with a perfect verbal score!

    posted by Marcella on 12-13-2006 at 3:38 pm

  8. Tirst is big issue in learning with young children. A thirsty brain is not a learning brain. Early childhood studies have shown that children who drink plenty of water are able to focus better. By the time a child realizes he is thirsty, the brain is already deprived. If children are taught to drink water when they feel hungry, then the hunger goes away. Good advice for adults, too.

    posted by Marcy Coll on 12-13-2006 at 5:27 pm

  9. In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes series, Sherlock usually fasted when he was thinking critically about a case – he found that it focused his brain better. Is there some correlation that this was in a book from like 150yrs ago? ;-) I think it’s pretty cool that the theory has been proven now.

    posted by Leslie on 12-13-2006 at 5:54 pm

  10. Guys, guys. Everyone knows that fatties are inferior. We didn’t need a Yale study to figure that out.

    posted by Amanda on 12-13-2006 at 9:18 pm

  11. Papa Hemingway was often hungry in his youthm when he lived in Paris. He said hunger was good, it sharpered the perceptions. We should try it!

    posted by Gizella O'Neil on 12-14-2006 at 7:20 pm

  12. Can anyone name a well-known fat or obese person who is known for their more superior intellect? I sure can’t.

    posted by Jessica on 12-16-2006 at 11:53 pm

  13. Are mice and human closely related?
    Good thoughts about mice (who moved the cheese again?) and this could lead to further findings about humans.

    I believe in moderation.

    posted by Clinton on 12-18-2006 at 11:46 am

  14. Jessica: Can anyone name a well-known fat or obese person who is known for their more superior intellect? I sure can’t.

    First name: Winston Churchill. Otherwise, nothing instantly comes to mind.

    posted by Another Chris on 11-27-2007 at 5:52 pm

  15. Uh, where’s the link to Yale’s article??

    posted by nan on 11-27-2007 at 10:57 pm

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