Does your IQ affect your health?
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Most people agree that one’s mental health/ emotional wellbeing affects one’s physical health. This is evident in simple things such as exercise being an effective antidepressant, and, even more interesting, according to an article by Becky Ham: “Annual costs of general, non-psychiatric medical care for people with persistent anxiety or depressed mood are 70 percent higher than for other patients, according to new research.” The article also goes on to explain that “There may be several reasons why patients with psychiatric problems incur greater medical care costs, according to Hunkeler and colleagues. A panic attack may mimic medical conditions like heart trouble, they say, sending patients to the emergency room. Patients with psychiatric problems may also be more worried about their health or have more trouble caring for themselves.” And according to Harvard Health Publications, “Stress, depression, and anxiety can contribute to a host of physical ailments including digestive disorders, sleep disturbances, and lack of energy”. This makes perfect sense, and I don’t think anyone would dispute these facts.
A discussion that is more recent however, is the effect that your IQ has on your health… According to a blogger who calls himself The Audacious Epigone, being smart is good for your health. “That's a sensible assertion given the relationship in people between greater intelligence and long-term orientation. Impulsivity drives a person to engage in activities with transitory benefits but costly and lasting price tags (cigarette smoking, drug use, junk food consumption, lack of exercise, etc)… Conversely, smarter people are more capable of denying themselves these sorts of indulgences to avoid the heavy toll they take on one's health. They are also less likely to fall for risible myths, such as the incorrect belief that AIDS carriers can eradicate their disease by having intercourse with virgins. And they are more likely to seek legitimate medical attention when something does go wrong.”
Of course income/socioeconomic class also plays a huge role, as having money obviously makes it easier to be healthy, but as another blogger states, IQ and income are “strongly and positively correlated”. However, two people with similar IQ’s but vastly different incomes should be able to lead similar lifestyles, as long as they’re able to afford similar food etc. So as far as I’m concerned, unless you’re extremely financially disadvantaged, your socioeconomic status shouldn’t affect your health that much, which means that IQ definitely plays a huge role. And as webMD states: “Few studies have been done on IQ and health inequalities; future research shouldn't just gather data; it should see how the links between low socioeconomic status, low IQ, and poor health might be broken". Whatever the outcome is, it should prove to be very interesting…
