The Role of Adolescent Nutrition and Physical Activity in the Prediction of Verbal Intelligence during Early Adulthood: A Genetically Informed Analysis of Twin Pairs

Dylan B. Jackson and Kevin M. Beaver
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Dylan B. Jackson: Department of Criminal Justice, College of Public Policy, University of Texas at San Antonio, 501 W. Cesar Chavez Blvd., San Antonio, TX 78207, USA
Kevin M. Beaver: College of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Florida State University, 112 S. Copeland St., Tallahassee, FL 32306, USA

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 1, 1-17

Abstract: A large body of research has revealed that nutrition and physical activity influence brain functioning at various stages of the life course. Nevertheless, very few studies have explored whether diet and exercise influence verbal intelligence as youth transition from adolescence into young adulthood. Even fewer studies have explored the link between these health behaviors and verbal intelligence while accounting for genetic and environmental factors that are shared between siblings. Employing data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the current study uses a sample of same-sex twin pairs to test whether youth who engage in poorer fitness and nutritional practices are significantly more likely to exhibit reduced verbal intelligence during young adulthood. The results suggests that, independent of the effects of genetic and shared environmental factors, a number of nutritional and exercise factors during adolescence influence verbal intelligence during adulthood. Limitations are noted and suggestions for future research are outlined.

Keywords: nutrition; diet; physical activity; exercise; verbal intelligence; heritability; twins; DF (Defries-Fulker) analysis (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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