A STUDY of people from the north-east of Scotland has shown that people are getting more intelligent with each generation, according to a new study.

Previous research conducted around the world has shown an IQ increase on a scale of three to four points per decade. The so-called Flynn Effect, named after the academic James Flynn, suggests better nutrition, health, higher living standards, and more socio-economic opportunities could contribute to better intelligence through the generations.

Now scientists at ­Aberdeen University and NHS Grampian have ­examined research into two groups of 751 people raised in the Granite City. One set was born in 1921 and the other in 1936.

These people are known as the Aberdeen Birth Cohort and were tested when they were aged 11 and when they were adults after the age of 62.

Researchers compared the two groups at age 11 and found an increase in IQ of 3.7 points, which was marginally below what was expected but within the range seen in other studies.

However, comparison in late life found an increase in IQ of 16.5 points, which is more than three times what was expected.