Thursday, February 10, 2011

A better diet may make kids smarter


A healthy diet filled with high intakes of nutrient rich foods could make kids smarter.
Research just published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health says a poor diet high in fat; sugar and processed foods in early childhood may be associated with lower IQ's later.
The new study used the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, which collected data on children's diet reported by parents in food-frequency questionnaires at ages 3, 4, 7 and 8.5. Dietary patterns were identified using principal-components analysis and scores computed at each age. IQ was assessed using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children at 8.5 years. Complete data was available for 3966 children.
Scientists concluded:
The "processed" (high fat and sugar content) pattern of diet at 3 years of age was negatively associated with IQ assessed at 8.5 years of age. A 1 SD increase in dietary pattern score was associated with a 1.67 point decrease in IQ (95 percent CI −2.34 to −1.00; p<0.0001). p="0.001).">

No comments:

Post a Comment