Male Intelligence 'Boosted by Fish'

Fish is well-known as being "brain food" - but new research suggests that the old wives' tale might actually carry some weight.

Scientists at the University of Gothenburg in Sweden have looked into the effects of weekly fish consumption on teenage boys.
Their research scored participants on verbal intelligence and spatial awareness, combining the results and comparing against the amount of fish they ate.

For boys who regularly ate fish around once a week, their scores were seen to rise by about six per cent.

And the effect grew stronger, reaching as high as 11 per cent for people who ate fish more than once every week.

Professor Kjell Toren from the university's Sahlgrenska Academy points out that the benefits almost double when fish consumption is increased beyond one portion per week.

The study of almost 4,000 adolescents - roughly equivalent to the entire undergraduate studentship of the academy - considered their intake of fish from the age of 15 until they reached their 18th birthday.

Professor Toren adds that the results conform to previous studies into the positive effects of eating fish in younger years.

But the expert points out that this is possibly the first investigation on such a scale of how adolescents are affected by eating fish.