That dumb jock might be smarter than he looks

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For young men, the fitter you are, the better your brain works.

A study recently published online in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences took advantage of data collected on 1.2 million Swedish men born between 1950 and 1976, and found that those in better shape displayed higher intelligence. Note that the findings were based on cardiovascular health, which led to better blood flow, less anxiety and less fatigue. All of these things could help to raise brain power. Muscle mass had nothing to do with it.

The study also looked at 3,000 young men who were twins (1,432 of them identical twins) – and using these data were able to determine that four-fifths of smarts was due to environmental factors and only 15% could be chalked up to genetics.

Bottom line? Can’t blame your bad math grades on your parents’ genes. Here’s some helpful information from the Mayo Clinic on aerobic exercise and its benefits.

-- Amina Khan