• Question: How much does an average brain weigh for Children, Adults and ederly people?

    Asked by anon-204605 to James on 13 Mar 2019.
    • Photo: James Munro

      James Munro answered on 13 Mar 2019:


      Hey Maisie!

      For adult males the average brain weighs about 1330 grams, which is about the same weight as one and a half bags of sugar. For adult females it is slightly smaller on average at 1200 grams (for smaller does not mean worse in any way. Females and males are equally capable regarding their brains!) As people age their brains get smaller by 2 or 3 grams each year – but this is very hard to see with a brain scan and does not mean that people get less intelligent.

      Children’s brains are a harder topic because they grow really rapidly. At first children are just a sperm and an egg, then some cells, then cells that sort of look like a brain before they become a brain. At 2 years old the brain is about 80% of an adult brain – so most of the growth is soon after birth.

      I hope that helps 🙂

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