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Kids – just plain naughty or simply victims of poor nutrition?
Research suggests that if we address the problem of poor nutrition amongst children,
we could also solve many of the problems that occur in some of our schools such
as anti-social behaviour, exclusions and poor literacy standards.
This might seem like a tall order but research carried out by Dr Alex Richardson
of Oxford University, involving young children aged from 5 to 12, proves otherwise.
All the children had Developmental Coordination Disorders (DCD’s), including Attention
Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and were more than two years behind in reading and
spelling.
Half of the children were given supplements containing Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids
and vitamin E and the other half given a placebo.
The results were astounding. The recipients of the supplements showed significantly
better progress in both reading and spelling over three months of treatment. Whilst
these supplements do not solve all of the issues related to DCD’s the benefits to learning
abilities are clear.
According to teacher ratings of the children’s behaviour there were also significant
improvements in their ADHD-related symptoms.
Bernard Gesch, a senior research scientist in the Department of Physiology at Oxford University,
also carried out in-depth research, not in schools, but in prisons clearly linking food to
behaviour.
The experiment involved giving one group of prisoner’s food supplements containing vitamins,
minerals and essential fatty acids that are all available over the counter whilst another
group were given placebos.
Again, the results were amazing: the anti-social behaviours of those on the supplements
fell by over 35% compared to no change in behaviour for those who took the placebo.
The message from this research is clear, parents that encourage their children to eat
healthily both at home and at school are more likely to see an improvement in both
their behaviour and academic ability.
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