In Meredith Melnick’s article “Toddlers’ Junk-Food Diet May Lead to Lower IQ” she speaks about how obese people have lower IQ’s than skinny people and how this is developed not just out of the blue, but develops over time. I disagree with this article, because I believe that obese people can in fact have a high IQ.
First off, what is the definition of obesity? Well, according to the Body Mass Index (BMI) calculator, if you’re in the 30th percentile or over, you are considered obese. Many people who are smart fit this profile of being ‘obese’.
Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1992 Rigoberta Menchu Tum is considered obese but has a high IQ and has accomplished many things, such as helping less fortunate people. And how about Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1998, John Hume? According to the BMI calculator, he is considered obese, but he has used his knowledge to make him the ‘thinker’ behind recent political choices in Northern Ireland. So why is it that people believe obese people do not have high IQs? Is it because of the scientific ‘facts’? Or is it because they would like to have an excuse to make fun of obese people?
Imagine a small child who is already insecure about her weight; she’s flipping through the Los Angeles Times when suddenly she comes upon this article. This child then reads through to realize that this article is talking about how fat people have lower IQs. Now, think about how that child may feel about herself now after reading this article. Wouldn’t you feel hurt? Wouldn’t your self-esteem go down? I know if I were this child, I would feel this way.
Have people ever stopped to wonder what is the reason why these people are obese? Maybe these people are too busy spending time studying for their test that’s the next day and don’t have enough time to take a jog or eat a healthy meal. They could be sitting down, reading a book instead of taking a bike ride. Or they could be too busy working long hours exercising their minds at work. I feel that if people would come to realize that obese people may not be exercising their bodies because they are exercising their minds then they would realize that not all obese people have low IQs. All of these examples show that there is always a story behind everything. Just because one person who is obese may not have the highest IQ, doesn’t mean that all obese people have low IQs, too.