Fat Kids are Stupid, According to Researchers

Timothy Birdnow

Here is a load of medical malarky, or at least a rather dubious bit of research. Funded by the National Institute of Health (a government funded entity) this study states that overweight children are, well, stupid.

From the article:

"Our hypothesis going into the study was that the thickness of the cerebral cortex would 'mediate' - or serve as an explanatory link for—the relationship between BMI and executive function," Laurent said.

The findings did confirm the relationship, according to the study's senior author, Scott Mackey, an assistant professor of Psychiatry in the University of Vermont's Larner College of Medicine.

"We found widespread thinning of cerebral cortex" among research subjects with higher BMI, Mackey said, but especially so in the prefontal area.

By "executive function" they mean memory and decision making.

The study followed 3,190 nine and ten year olds, and analyzed blood as well as did brain scans.

Without seeing the methodology of the research, I rather suspect it was poor. Nothing was said about the control group, for instance. Nothing was said about the childrens' education or leisure activities.These have everything to do with brain development, as neuroplasticity is well established and how children use their brains has a large impact on neural architecture.

The authors of this study admit they didn't look at behavior.

Here is the kicker:

"With prolonged exposure to obesity, it is possible that children have chronic inflammation, and that may actually be affecting their brain in the long term," she said.

Now we get to the nub of it!

The purpose of this study is to reach the hand of government into the lives of children, taking away the decision making authority of parents. IF allowing your child to get fat causes them to develop improperly then the State has a right and duty to take away your authority.

As I say, without being privvy to the details of the research (and I don't have access to Jama articles) I can't tear this thing apart, but I know a rat when I smell one.

Our overlords in Washington fund most research in this country, and they have ulterior motives. Just look at what Michael Bloomberg did in New York; he regulated the size of sodas, for instance, in his quest to force citizens into his ideal. That is what is intended here. I do not believe a word of this study.

This "research" plays on the most odious stereotypes of overweight people being fat and lazy. It is reminiscent of the movie Animal House "fat drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son!" That, my friends, is the basest prejudice.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 12:04 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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