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原文：

Fish Helps Teenage Boys Raise IQ Scores
Posted on: Monday, 9 March 2009, 14:18 CDT

Fifteen-year-old males who ate fish at least once a week displayed higher cognitive skills at the age of 18 than those who it ate it less frequently, according to a study of nearly 4,000 teenagers published in the March issue of Acta Paediatrica.

Eating fish once a week was enough to increase combined, verbal and visuospatial intelligence scores by an average of six per cent, while eating fish more than once a week increased them by just under 11 per cent.

Swedish researchers compared the responses of 3,072 males who took part in the survey with the cognitive scores recorded in their Swedish Military Conscription records three years later.

“We found a clear link between frequent fish consumption and higher scores when the teenagers ate fish at least once a week” says Professor Kjell Toren from the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, one of the senior scientists involved in the study. “When they ate fish more than once a week the improvement almost doubled.

“These findings are significant because the study was carried out between the ages of 15 and 18 when educational achievements can help to shape the rest of a young man’s life.

The research team found that:

    58 percent of the boys who took part in the study ate fish at least once a week and a further 20 percent ate fish more than once a week.
    When male teenagers ate fish more than once a week their combined intelligence scores were on average 12 per cent higher.
    The verbal intelligence scores for teenagers who ate fish more than once a week were on average nine percent higher than those who ate fish less than once a week. Those who ate fish once a week scored four percent higher.
    The same pattern was seen in the visuospatial intelligence scores, with teenagers who ate fish more than once a week scoring on average 11 per cent higher than those who ate fish less than once a week. Those who ate fish once a week scored seven per cent higher.

“A number of studies have already shown that fish can help neurodevelopment in infants, reduce the risk of impaired cognitive function from middle age onwards and benefit babies born to women who ate fish during pregnancy” says Professor Toren.

“However we believe that this is the first large-scale study to explore the effect on adolescents.”

The exact mechanism that links fish consumption to improved cognitive performance is still not clear.

“The most widely held theory is that it is the long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids found in fish that have positive effects on cognitive performance” explains Professor Toren.

“Fish contains both omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids which are known to accumulate in the brain when the fetus is developing. Other theories have been put forward that highlight their vascular and anti-inflammatory properties and their role in suppressing cytokines, chemicals that can affect the immune system.”

In order to isolate the effect of fish consumption on the study subjects, the research team looked at a wide range of variables, including ethnicity, where they lived, their parents’ educational level, the teenagers’ well-being, how frequently they exercised and their weight.

“Having looked very carefully at the wide range of variables explored by this study it was very clear that there was a significant association between regular fish consumption at 15 and improved cognitive performance at 18” concludes lead author Dr Maria Aberg from the Centre for Brain Repair and Rehabilitation at the University of Gothenburg.

“We also found the same association between fish and intelligence in the teenagers regardless of their parents’ level of education.”

The researchers are now keen to carry out further research to see if the kind of fish consumed - for example lean fish in fish fingers or fatty fish such as salmon – makes any difference to the results.

“But for the time being it appears that including fish in a diet can make a valuable contribution to cognitive performance in male teenagers” says Dr Aberg.

译文：

吃鱼帮助男青少年提高智商分数
发表于：2009年3月9日星期一，美国中部时间14:18

根据儿科学报(Acta Paediatrica)三月刊登的一项在近4000名青少年中做的研究，每周至少吃一次鱼的15岁男生，到18岁时比每周吃鱼不足一次的男生具有更高的认知能力。

每周吃一次鱼足以使语言和视觉空间的综合智商数平均提高6%，每周吃鱼多次可提高近11%。

瑞典的研究人员比较了参加调查的3072个男生三年后参军时的认知能力记录。

“我们发现在每周至少吃一次鱼的这些男生当中，经常吃鱼和更高智商方面有明确的联系。”进行此项研究的高级科学家之一，哥德堡大学健康科学研究院的Kjell Toren教授说。“当他们每周吃鱼多次时，效果几乎是双倍的。”

“由于此项研究在15-18岁的年龄段中进行，此时通过教育努力可以塑造年轻人的一生，所以这些发现是非常有意义的。

研究组发现：

    参加调查的男生中，有58%的男生每周至少吃鱼一次，其中20%的男生每周吃鱼多次。

    相对每周吃鱼不足一次的男生，每周吃鱼多次的男生的综合智商分数比其平均高出12%。每周吃鱼一次的男生比其平均高出7%。

    相对每周吃鱼不足一次的男生，每周吃鱼多次的男生的语言智商分数比其平均高出9%。每周吃鱼一次的男生比其平均高出4%。

    在视觉空间智商分数中，也能见到这样的效果。相对每周吃鱼不足一次的男生，每周吃鱼多次的男生视觉空间智商分数比其平均高出11%。每周吃鱼一次的男生比其平均高出7%。
 
“大量研究已经证明，吃鱼可以帮助婴儿的神经发育，减少中年以后的认知功能的受损，怀孕期吃鱼的妇女，其婴儿也能同样受益。”Toren教授说。

“然而，我们相信，此项研究是第一个针对上述作用对青少年的大规模的研究。”

吃鱼帮助提升认知能力的确切作用机理仍不明确。

“现在最普遍的理论是鱼肉中的长链多不饱和脂肪酸对认知能力有益。”Toren教授解释说。

“鱼肉中含有奥米加3和奥米加6两种脂肪酸，现已知这两种物质可刺激胎儿的大脑发育。还有理论强调了其对血管和抗炎的特性及他们在抑制细胞因子（影响免疫系统的化学物质）中的作用。”

为了在研究中把吃鱼的作用分离出来，研究小组进行了广泛的变量调查，包括男生们的种族、居住地、父母教育程度、男生们的幸福感、体育锻炼频率和体重。

“我们仔细研究了广泛的变量之后，现在已经明确，在15岁时开始经常吃鱼，与到18岁时认知能力的提高之间有十分重要的联系。”此项研究的首席作者，哥德堡大学大脑修复与康复中心的Maria Aberg博士得出结论。

“我们还发现，无论其父母的教育水平如何，青少年吃鱼都能对其智力有所提升。”

研究者现正非常有兴趣进行进一步的研究，看看吃鱼的种类不同是否效果也不同，例如鱼条中的含脂肪少的鱼肉和像三文鱼之类的多脂鱼类，其效果是否不同。

“就目前来看，可以说，吃鱼对男孩们的认知能力十分有益。”Aberg博士说。