IQ Link to Baby's Weight Gain in First Month

IQ Link to Baby's Weight Gain in First Month

  10:00:00 AM    Science Lover

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New research from the University of Adelaide shows that weight gain and increased head size in the first month of a baby's life is linked to a higher IQ at early school age.

IQ Link to Baby's Weight Gain in First Month
(Credit: © JPC-PROD / Fotolia)

The study was led by University of Adelaide Public Health researchers, who analysed data from more than 13,800 children who were born full-term.

The results, published in the international journal Pediatrics, show that babies who put on 40% of their birthweight in the first four weeks had an IQ 1.5 points higher by the time they were six years of age, compared with babies who only put on 15% of their birthweight.

Those with the biggest growth in head circumference also had the highest IQs.

"Head circumference is an indicator of brain volume, so a greater increase in head circumference in a newborn baby suggests more rapid brain growth," says the lead author of the study, Dr Lisa Smithers from the University of Adelaide's School of Population Health.

"Overall, newborn children who grew faster in the first four weeks had higher IQ scores later in life," she says.

"Those children who gained the most weight scored especially high on verbal IQ at age 6. This may be because the neural structures for verbal IQ develop earlier in life, which means the rapid weight gain during that neonatal period could be having a direct cognitive benefit for the child."

Previous studies have shown the association between early postnatal diet and IQ, but this is the first study of its kind to focus on the IQ benefits of rapid weight gain in the first month of life for healthy newborn babies.

Dr Smithers says the study further highlights the need for successful feeding of newborn babies.

"We know that many mothers have difficulty establishing breastfeeding in the first weeks of their baby's life," Dr Smithers says.

"The findings of our study suggest that if infants are having feeding problems, there needs to be early intervention in the management of that feeding."
 
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'Fat' Taste Could Hold The Key To Cut Obesity

'Fat' Taste Could Hold The Key To Cut Obesity

  9:48:00 AM    Science Lover

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A newly discovered ability for people to taste fat could hold the key to reducing obesity, Deakin University health researchers believe.

Researchers have discovered that humans can detect a sixth taste: fat. (Credit: iStockphoto/Andrey Stepanov)

Deakin researchers Dr Russell Keast and PhD student Jessica Stewart, working with colleagues at the University of Adelaide, CSIRO, and Massey University (New Zealand), have found that humans can detect a sixth taste -- fat. They also found that people with a high sensitivity to the taste of fat tended to eat less fatty foods and were less likely to be overweight. The results of their research are published in the latest issue of the British Journal of Nutrition.

"Our findings build on previous research in the United States that used animal models to discover fat taste," Dr Keast said.

"We know that the human tongue can detect five tastes -- sweet, salt, sour, bitter and umami (a taste for identifying protein rich foods). Through our study we can conclude that humans have a sixth taste -- fat."

The research team developed a screening procedure to test the ability of people to taste a range of fatty acids commonly found in foods.

They found that people have a taste threshold for fat and that these thresholds vary from person to person; some people have a high sensitivity to the taste while others do not.

"Interestingly, we also found that those with a high sensitivity to the taste of fat consumed less fatty foods and had lower BMIs than those with lower sensitivity," Dr Keast said.

"With fats being easily accessible and commonly consumed in diets today, this suggests that our taste system may become desensitised to the taste of fat over time, leaving some people more susceptible to overeating fatty foods.

"We are now interested in understanding why some people are sensitive and others are not, which we believe will lead to ways of helping people lower their fat intakes and aide development of new low fat foods and diets."

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