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Are dietary patterns in childhood associated with IQ at 8 years of age? A population-based cohort study
Abstract
Little is known about the effects of overall diet in childhood and intelligence later in life.
The current study, based on the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, uses data on children's diet reported by parents in food-frequency questionnaires at 3, 4, 7 and 8.5 years of age. 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. Data on a number of confounders were collected, and complete data were available for 3966 children.
After adjustment, 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% CI -2.34 to -1.00; p<0.0001). The 'health-conscious' (salad, rice, pasta, fish, fruit) pattern at 8.5 years was positively associated with IQ: a 1 SD increase in pattern score led to a 1.20 point increase in IQ (95% CI 0.52 to 1.88; p=0.001).
There is evidence that a poor diet associated with high fat, sugar and processed food content in early childhood may be associated with small reductions in IQ in later childhood, while a healthy diet, associated with high intakes of nutrient rich foods described at about the time of IQ assessment may be associated with small increases in IQ.
... Several studies have explored the link between dietary intake and intelligence (Leventakou et al., 2016;Northstone et al., 2012;Smithers et al., 2012). Some studies suggested that poor eating habits involving frequent consumption of high-fat, high-sugar, and processed foods during early childhood might correlate with lower IQ in later developmental stages (Leventakou et al., 2016;Northstone et al., 2012). ...
... Several studies have explored the link between dietary intake and intelligence (Leventakou et al., 2016;Northstone et al., 2012;Smithers et al., 2012). Some studies suggested that poor eating habits involving frequent consumption of high-fat, high-sugar, and processed foods during early childhood might correlate with lower IQ in later developmental stages (Leventakou et al., 2016;Northstone et al., 2012). Research indicated that even small doses of caffeine negatively impacted specific types of intelligence tests. ...
... The impact of suboptimal dietary choices, particularly those high in fat, salt, and sugar during preschool years, could detrimentally affect children's cognitive abilities, including verbal and cognitive skills. Consumption of foods rich in these elements but low in essential nutrients might impede cognitive development and academic performance in children (Leventakou et al., 2016;Northstone et al., 2012). Northstone et al. (2012) found that dietary patterns dominated by processed foods high in fat and sugar content at 3 years of age were associated with decreased IQ scores at 8.5 years. ...
This study aimed to explore the relationship between food intake frequency, weight status, and intelligence among school children. A cross-sectional study involved 562 children (aged 6.3–12.7 years) randomly selected from five elementary schools in Taichung City, Taiwan. Demographic information was collected, and the children's body weight and height were measured to calculate their body mass index. A food frequency questionnaire assessed the participating children's dietary habits. Intelligence quotient scores were evaluated using Raven's colored progress matrices for first and second graders, and Raven's standard progressive matrices for third to sixth graders. This study found that there was no significant relationship in intelligence quotient scores between gender, birth order groups, and weight status. The higher consumption of pork liver, hamburgers, fruit juices, and the Taiwanese snack “Science Noodles” was associated with lower intelligence quotient scores among school children.
... Their proper physical growth and health services are the foundation for increasing their learning capacity and success in the future [9]. According to research that looked at the connection between 8-year-olds' IQ and their eating patterns and behaviors [10], they discovered that a good diet may be linked to a slight increase in IQ in late childhood [10]. Also, according to research conducted in 23 regions across the nation, children's health is seriously compromised by an idle lifestyle and poor diet [11]. ...
... Their proper physical growth and health services are the foundation for increasing their learning capacity and success in the future [9]. According to research that looked at the connection between 8-year-olds' IQ and their eating patterns and behaviors [10], they discovered that a good diet may be linked to a slight increase in IQ in late childhood [10]. Also, according to research conducted in 23 regions across the nation, children's health is seriously compromised by an idle lifestyle and poor diet [11]. ...
... The difference in sample size between the two studies might cause this variation. Additionally, Northstone et al. (2011) concluded that there is evidence linking poor nutrition and food habits in early childhood linked with excessive fat, sugar, and processed food to a slight decline in IQ in late childhood [10]. However, a slight rise in IQ may be related to healthy eating practices and high nutrient intake. ...
Background
Children's intelligence quotient (IQ) is influenced by various environmental and genetic variables. The current study aimed to determine how children's dietary choices and physical activity levels correlated with their IQ.
Methods
A total of 190 students (111 girls and 79 boys) between the ages of 8 and 10 were chosen randomly for this cross-sectional research. For all children, questionnaires were utilized to gather information on their anthropometry, socio-economic position, food habits, and 24-h memory. Children's physical activity questionnaire (CPAQ) was also used to gauge their level of physical activity. Raven's color progressive intelligence test was also used to gauge children's IQ. All the questions may be filled out online with the assistance of parents. SPSS software was used to gather and evaluate the generated data.
Results
Of 190 respondents, 79 (41.6%) are males, and 111 (58.4%) are girls. The results of the study showed that, a positive correlation between children's IQ and physical activity (P = 0.017, r = 0.17), if this relationship was not seen by gender. In addition, a positive correlation was observed between the IQ and food habits scores in all children (P = 0.001, r = 0.24), as well as by gender, that is, male (P = 0.04, r = 0.23) and female (P = 0.006, r = 0.26), which indicates that children with better food habits were associated with higher IQ.
Conclusion
It was shown that elementary school children's IQ, food habits, and degree of physical activity are all positively correlated.
... Dietary patterns take into account that nutrients act synergistically in the body and not in isolation [8]. Tandon et al. [9] reviewed 8 studies on the links between dietary patterns and general cognition in children aged [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] years. All the studies were secondary analyses from longitudinal cohorts and compared a "healthy" pattern (where fruits, vegetables and whole grains were important) against an "unhealthy" pattern (with high sugar and fat content). ...
... All studies found a positive effect of a healthy dietary pattern consumed in the first years (from 6 month to 3 years) on children's general intelligence and in verbal abilities assessed in childhood and adolescence (from 5 to 15 years old). Some studies also found this association when dietary patterns were evaluated at the same time as cognitive measures at 5 [10], 8 [11] and 8.5 years old [12]. Other studies found an inverse association between an unhealthy diet pattern and intelligence [13,14]. ...
... Another study based on the BSDS and the DASH dietary pattern found a positive association with better academic performance in reading, but not in arithmetic, in 6-8 year old children [19]. Three studies found a positive association between a better diet quality [20] or the adherence to a Mediterranean Diet [21,22] with general school performance in [10][11][12] year-olds. ...
Purpose
The benefits of a healthy diet on children´s cognition have been described in several studies. However, many previous studies have analyzed the effect on general cognitive domains (e.g. intelligence), used measures based almost exclusively on local examinations, and rarely consider social context.
Objective
The objective of the present study was to examine the relationship between two diet patterns and contextualized cognitive performance measures of children aged 6–8 years from low-average income neighborhoods in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Methods
270 first-grade children with complete data participated in the study. Consumption of foods was determined via two averaged 24-h dietary recalls with the mother. Two dietary patterns were identified via principal component analysis: “processed (high calorie) foods” and “nutrient dense”. Children´s cognitive performance, including general cognitive abilities, achievement in mathematics and reading, and discrepancy scores between predicted and actual achievement was assessed with the Woodcock-Muñoz Cognitive and Achievement scales. The association of dietary patterns and cognitive endpoints was analyzed in multilevel models, clustered by children´s school. Sociodemographic and biological variables were used as covariates.
Results
The nutrient dense foods pattern, characterized by higher consumption of dark leafy and red–orange vegetables, eggs, beans & peas, potatoes, was associated with better performance in reading, with beta coefficient 3.28 (95% CI 0.02, 6.54). There was also an association between the nutrient dense foods factor and the Discrepancy in reading, 2.52 (0.17, 4.87). Processed (high calorie) foods pattern, characterized by higher consumption of breads, processed meats, fats and oils, sweetened beverages, and sweetened yogurt/dairy products; reduced intake of milk, pastries and pizza dinners was not associated with cognitive performance.
Conclusions
Nutrient dense food pattern was positively associated with children’s reading achievement. A nutrient-rich diet may benefit written language acquisition at the beginning of schooling.
... A few previous papers have related a priori [12][13][14][15][16][17] and a posteriori [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] DPs to cognitive/academic performance in cross-sectional and/or longitudinal analyses. Cross-sectional analyses of a priori DPs, including the Mediterranean Diet score [12][13][14]17], the Healthy Eating Index [15], the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet score [16], the Finnish Children Healthy Eating Index [16,17], and the Baltic Sea Diet Score [16,17], suggested that higher diet quality indices are generally associated with better cognitive and academic performance in children and adolescents from Europe and the United States. ...
... Cross-sectional analyses of a priori DPs, including the Mediterranean Diet score [12][13][14]17], the Healthy Eating Index [15], the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet score [16], the Finnish Children Healthy Eating Index [16,17], and the Baltic Sea Diet Score [16,17], suggested that higher diet quality indices are generally associated with better cognitive and academic performance in children and adolescents from Europe and the United States. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses generally revealed that unhealthy a posteriori DPs, characterized by energy-dense and processed foods as well as refined grains, are related to lower cognitive/academic performance [18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25]. ...
... When considering the relation between a posteriori DPs from PCA or FA and cognitive performance, additional challenges include the potentially different tools used for the assessment of diet and cognitive performance; in particular, the use of different psychometric tests across papers makes result comparisons difficult because each test evaluates cognitive performance through indexes that only partially overlap in terms of the explained underlying cognitive functions. In addition, within the few papers identified in the literature on this topic [18][19][20][21]25], target populations were substantially different and included adolescents from Malaysia [19] and China [25], 4-year-old children from Greece [18], and 7-and 8.5-year-old children from the UK-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort [20,21]. A detailed comparison of results across papers is therefore unfeasible. ...
Research from different sources supports a link between nutrition and neurodevelopment, but evidence is still sparse regarding the relationship between a posteriori dietary patterns (DPs) and cognitive performance in school-aged children. Within the Northern Adriatic Cohort II, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Italy, 379 7-year-old children were cross-sectionally evaluated. Dietary patterns were identified through a principal component factor analysis based on 37 nutrients from children’s 3-day dietary records. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale of Children (WISC-IV) test provided measures of cognitive performance, including the full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) and single index scores. Each DP was related to FSIQ or single index scores through multiple robust linear regression models. We identified five DPs named “Dairy Products”, “Plant-based Foods”, “Fats”, “Meat and Potatoes”, and “Seafood” (63% of variance explained). After adjustment, no significant relationship was observed with the FSIQ score; positive associations were found between the “Seafood” DP and Verbal Comprehension Index or Perceptual Reasoning Index. The “Meat and Potatoes” and “Dairy Products” DPs were inversely associated with the Verbal Comprehension Index and Processing Speed Index scores, respectively. In the absence of a relation with the overall FSIQ score, single DPs might influence specific cognitive functions, including verbal and reasoning abilities, as targeted by single indexes, in the expected direction.
... Participants were excluded if they failed to return the FFQ or had more than 10 food items missing over the 90 items in the FFQ. If ten or fewer items were unanswered, FFQ data were utilized and the missing items were assigned a value of 0 (Emmett et al., 2015;Northstone, Joinson, Emmett, Ness and Paus, 2012). ...
... To facilitate quantitative analysis, data were converted into a weekly basis (i.e. 0; 0.5; 2; 5.5; and 10 times per week corresponding to the five frequency options) (Emmett et al., 2015;Northstone and Emmett, 2005;Northstone et al., 2012). Some detailed food items have non-standardized consumption frequency options in the FFQ and we modified them to also represent weekly consumption. ...
... Detailed algorithm descriptions can be provided upon request. Similar to previous studies (Hu et al., 1999;Northstone and Emmett, 2005;Northstone et al., 2012;Vermeulen et al., 2016), we combined some original detailed items in the FFQ before analysis since they belong to the same food type. Thus, 87 detailed food items in the FFQ were condensed into 38 food groups (e.g. ...
Background:
Inflammation may be a hidden process in the relationship between dietary intake and depression, but no study has evaluated the role of diet and inflammation jointly in explaining depression risk in early life. The current study aims to investigate the relationship between inflammatory dietary pattern (IDP) in childhood and depression in early adulthood.
Methods:
This study used data prospectively collected over 10 years from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) cohort (n = 6939) free from depression at baseline (age 8.5 years). An IDP score was empirically derived via reduced rank regression and stepwise linear regression based on dietary intake data from the food frequency questionnaire at 8.5 years and levels of inflammatory biomarkers, C-reactive protein and interleukin-6, at 9.5 years. At age 18 years, depression cases were identified via the International Statistical Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision (ICD-10) diagnosis and the Clinical Interview Schedule-Revised (CIS-R) depression score. Logistic regression models were constructed to examine the relationship between the IDP score and risk of depression adjusted for potential confounders. Analyses stratified by weight status were also conducted. Multiple imputations were utilized to minimize bias due to loss-to-follow-up.
Results:
Participants in the highest tertile of IDP score had 1.34 times odds to develop depression compared to those in the lowest tertile (95% CI, 1.08-1.66; P-trend<0.01), after dietary misreporting status and energy intake were adjusted. After all covariates were adjusted, the relationship between IDP tertiles and depression was attenuated (highest tertile vs. lowest tertile: OR = 1.21; 95% CI, 0.96-1.51); in addition, the relationship was marginally significant among participants who were not overweight or obese (p < 0.10) but not significant among participants who were overweight or obese.
Conclusions:
Higher IDP in childhood seems to be associated with higher depression risk in early adulthood. The study provides preliminary evidence that chronic inflammation may underlie the relationship between diet and depression even for children, especially those who are not overweight or obese.
... Intelligence during youth, conventionally assessed through measures such as the intelligence quotient (IQ), has been associated with important life outcomes, including better future health, 1-3 financial well-being, 4 socioeconomic success, [5][6][7] and even happiness. 8 For instance, higher intelligence in childhood and adolescence appears to be associated with longer life expectancy, even after adjusting for socioeconomic status. 2 Intelligence is influenced by genetics 9 and environmental factors, [10][11][12][13][14][15] beginning as early as the prenatal period. Several environmental factors seem to influence intelligence at young ages, including nutrition, 10 education, 11 socioeconomic status, 12 the parental environment, 13 delivery mode (ie, vaginal versus cesarean section), 14 or even maternal physical activity during pregnancy. ...
... 8 For instance, higher intelligence in childhood and adolescence appears to be associated with longer life expectancy, even after adjusting for socioeconomic status. 2 Intelligence is influenced by genetics 9 and environmental factors, [10][11][12][13][14][15] beginning as early as the prenatal period. Several environmental factors seem to influence intelligence at young ages, including nutrition, 10 education, 11 socioeconomic status, 12 the parental environment, 13 delivery mode (ie, vaginal versus cesarean section), 14 or even maternal physical activity during pregnancy. 15 It has been suggested that physical fitness might also play a role in intelligence. ...
CONTEXT
Mixed evidence exists on whether physical exercise interventions influence intelligence measures in children and adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the effect of exercise interventions on intelligence in children and adolescents.
DATA SOURCES
Relevant articles were identified in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and Scopus (until February 22, 2024).
STUDY SELECTION
Randomized controlled trials assessing the effects of exercise interventions on intelligence in youth (≤19 years).
DATA EXTRACTION
A random-effects meta-analysis was performed for intelligence measures reported in ≥3 studies. Subanalyses examined the moderating effect of variables such as participants’ intelligence quotient (IQ), age, or intervention duration.
RESULTS
Fourteen randomized controlled trials (n = 3203 participants; age range = 5–14 years) were included. Exercise interventions significantly improved general intelligence compared with control groups (standardized mean difference = 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.11–0.97, P = .01), which corresponded to a mean improvement in the IQ score of 4.0 points (95% CI = 1.44–6.64, P = .01). Significant benefits of exercise interventions were also observed for fluid intelligence (standard mean difference = 0.20, 95% CI = 0.06–0.34, P = .006). Crystallized intelligence could not be meta-analyzed because of a lack of studies. Subanalyses revealed similar benefits in participants with low/borderline versus normal IQ, children versus adolescents, and interventions with different durations.
LIMITATIONS
The heterogeneity observed in the characteristics of the exercise interventions and the populations included can be a potential confounding factor.
CONCLUSIONS
Exercise interventions are associated with improvements in intelligence (including both general and fluid intelligence) in youth.
... In addition, children with higher consumption of fast-food and SSBs at age 3 had poorer academic achievement at age 10 (19). An ultraprocessed dietary pattern with high fat, sugar, and processed food in early childhood has been associated with lower scores in verbal ability (20,21) and increased odds of mathematical difficulties (22). Collectively, ultraprocessed food consumption may hinder the development of cognitive function in children. ...
... The ultraprocessed foods in this survey are mainly those high in saturated fat and added sugar. We showed a combined effects of these ultraprocessed food intake on children cognitive function in VCI domain, which was in line with findings of several prior epidemiology studies that ultraprocessed diet patterns with high fat and sugar content impact cognitive function (17,18,20,21,38). Animal evidence also supports the findings that these ultraprocessed food intakes may adversely influence cognitive development. ...
Background
Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption has shown associations with cognitive function in preschool children, but effects of other ultraprocessed foods consumption are rarely discussed in China. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between ultraprocessed food consumption and cognitive function among preschool children in China.
Methods
A total of 325 children aged 4–7 years were included from Guangxi Zhuang Birth Cohort in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Face-to-face interviews with parents using the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) was conducted to investigate the status of seven ultraprocessed foods consumption (i.e., chocolate, biscuits, candy, fast-food, ice cream, SSBs, and sweet bakery products). The mandarin-language version of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI, Fourth Edition) was applied to assess the cognitive function of children. Multiple linear and logistic regression models were used to assess the associations between ultraprocessed food consumption and the full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) and different domains and risk of cognitive deficit, respectively.
Results
We found that frequent consumption of candy (β = −3.34, 95% CI: −5.62∼−1.06; p = 0.004) and sweet bakery products (β = −2.77, 95% CI: −5.58∼0.04; p = 0.054) were significant associated with decreased FSIQ scores in the linear regression models. However, only frequent consumption of candy was statistically significantly associated with an increased risk of cognitive deficit (OR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.11∼3.79; p = 0.023) in the logistic regression models. For the different domains, we found frequent consumption of candy (β = −3.85, 95% CI: −6.28∼−1.43; p = 0.002) and sweet bakery products (β = −3.48, 95% CI: −6.47∼−0.49; p = 0.023) was also significantly associated with lower Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI). When combining the seven ultraprocessed foods, we found children who frequently consumed more than two kinds of ultraprocessed foods had a significant decrease of VCI scores (β = −2.66; 95% CI: −5.12∼−0.19; p = 0.035) too.
Conclusion
Our results suggested that frequent consumption of individual (candy and sweet bakery products) and multiple ultraprocessed foods may decrease VCI scores and thereby impact cognitive function in children aged 4–7 years.
... Psychological health is still a matter of concern worldwide, but some indicators suggest that psychological diseases will continue to rise worldwide [171]. A healthy diet seems to have a potential role at the early stages of life to prevent mental health diseases over a lifetime [172], to prevent cognition disabilities [173], and to support intelligence [174]. ...
... In early childhood, intelligence also seems to be related to a higher amount of consumption of home-prepared food, fruit, and vegetables during infancy. Higher consumption of fruits, salad, rice, and pasta, rather than processed food with high levels of fat and sugar, also positively influences intelligence in children [174]. ...
Correct dietary patterns are important for a child’s health from birth to adulthood. Understanding a child’s health as a state of entire physical, mental, and social well-being is essential. However, reaching adulthood in a complete health proper state is determined by feeding and dietary habits during preconception, pregnancy, or children infancy. Different factors, such as the mother’s lifestyle, culture, or socioeconomic status, are crucial during all these phases. In this review, we aimed to assess the long-term associations between infancy dietary patterns and health and their influence on development and growth. To reach this objective, a consensus critical review was carried out using primary sources such as scientific articles, and secondary bibliographic indexes, databases, and web pages. PubMed, SciELO, and Google Scholar were the tools used to complete this research. We found that high-income countries promote high-calorie foods and, consequently, obesity problems among children are rising. However, undernutrition is a global health issue concerning children in low- and middle-income countries; thus, parental socioeconomic status in early life is essential to children’s health and development, showing that biological, social, and environmental influences are increased risk factors for chronic diseases. This narrative review is aimed to collect evidence for early nutritional intervention and future disease prevention.
... Another prospective cohort study [27] reported that higher intake of Western foods at age 14 was associated with diminished cognitive performance 3 years later, at 17 years old. Northstone et al. [28] examined the association between dietary patterns in childhood and intelligence quotient (IQ) later in life, and found that the 'processed' (high fat and sugar content) pattern of diet at 3 years old was negatively associated with IQ assessed at 8.5 years of age. ...
... Most of the existing studies have focused on the relationship between dietary pattern and cognition in the elderly, and only few studies have investigated on both children and adolescents. Although the above-mentioned studies reported the associations between dietary pattern and cognitive ability during childhood and adolescence [24][25][26][27][28], the data available on Asia is still extremely limited, especially on Chinese children and adolescents. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate the associations between dietary patterns (obtained by PCA) and cognitive ability in Chinese children aged 10-15 years. ...
Background
Limited information is available concerning the association between dietary patterns and cognitive ability during adolescence, especially in regards to the epidemiological studies in China. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the association between dietary patterns and cognitive ability in Chinese children aged 10–15 years.
Methods
The dietary information, cognitive ability and sociodemographic data of 2029 children were retrieved from the 2010 China Family Panel Studies. Dietary patterns were assessed by principal component analysis. Ordinal logistic regression models were used to determine the association between dietary patterns and cognitive ability in these children.
Results
Three dietary patterns were identified, namely, ‘High protein’, ‘High fat’ and ‘High salt-oil’. Following adjustment for gender, age, nationality, household registration, school type, parental education level, family learning environment, annual household income and family size, we found that an increase in ‘High protein’ pattern score was significantly associated with higher mathematics test scores (OR = 1.62, CI: 1.23 ~ 2.15; P = 0.001), but not with vocabulary test scores (OR = 1.21, CI: 0.93 ~ 1.58; P = 0.149). On the contrary, an increase in ‘High fat’ pattern score was significantly associated with lower scores of mathematics (OR = 0.76, CI: 0.59 ~ 0.98; P = 0.031) and vocabulary (OR = 0.77, CI: 0.61 ~ 0.97; P = 0.029) tests. However, there was no significant association between ‘High salt-oil’ pattern and the scores of mathematics (OR = 0.99, CI: 0.77 ~ 1.27; P = 0.915) and vocabulary (OR = 0.93, CI: 0.73 ~ 1.18; P = 0.544) tests.
Conclusion
The findings of this study demonstrated that ‘High protein’ pattern was positively associated with cognitive ability in Chinese children, while ‘High fat’ pattern exhibited a negative association.
... Similarly, a study in mainland China found that preschoolers consuming a diet high in "processed" foods had greater odds for having symptoms associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [28]. Northstone et al. [29] had similar findings, in that consumption of a more "processed" dietary pattern, consisting of high fat and sugar content, at three years old, was negatively associated with IQ at age 8.5 years [29]. A proposed explanation for these findings is that "processed" dietary patterns are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, and thus likely a high-GI diet; however, the GI or GL of the children's diets were not assessed. ...
... Similarly, a study in mainland China found that preschoolers consuming a diet high in "processed" foods had greater odds for having symptoms associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [28]. Northstone et al. [29] had similar findings, in that consumption of a more "processed" dietary pattern, consisting of high fat and sugar content, at three years old, was negatively associated with IQ at age 8.5 years [29]. A proposed explanation for these findings is that "processed" dietary patterns are high in sugar and refined carbohydrates, and thus likely a high-GI diet; however, the GI or GL of the children's diets were not assessed. ...
The executive functioning skill set, which includes working memory, cognitive flexibility, and inhibitory control, begins developing in early life and continues into adulthood. Preschoolers’ abilities to perform those skills may be influenced by diet. The purpose of this study was to explore the acute effects of consuming a low-GI diet compared to the usual childcare diet on preschoolers’ self-reported feelings of hunger and fullness and their performance on learning-associated tasks. This study was a prospective feeding trial in n = 20 children 3–4 years of age, completed in a laboratory setting where children attended “day camps” and consumed two days of usual diet (CON) and two days of low-GI (INT) diet. Learning outcomes were evaluated using select learning assessments including the Kansas Reflection-Impulsivity Scale for Preschoolers (KRISP), Track-it, Peg Tapping, and Happy/Sad. Repeated measures, full-factorial analysis of covariance revealed that diet was significantly related to impulsivity (p > 0.05), and univariate analysis of variance indicated that feelings of hunger and fullness differentially affected cognitive constructs in that feeling full improved impulsivity and attention, while feeling hungry improved inhibitory control. These findings highlight that the connection between diet and learning-related skills of children are independently mediated by both diet composition and feelings of hunger and fullness.
... The testers were trained psychologists who were overseen by a senior psychologist with long experience of psychometric testing within the study. She observed each tester, met with the group regularly to discuss the precise administration of each subtest, and checked their scoring (26,27) ...
... Several covariates were retained in the final model because of prior knowledge that they were related to the exposure. Omega-3 fatty acid intake estimates were derived from a food-frequency questionnaire on seafood consumption during pregnancy (26,28). Maternal age, maternal smoking during pregnancy, parity, house ownership status, parental education, and social class were recorded during pregnancy. ...
Genetic predisposition may affect neurodevelopmental outcomes of prenatal methylmercury exposure. We examined suspected heterogeneities for modification of exposure-related neurodevelopment in children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC, 1991-2000), Bristol, United Kingdom. A subgroup (n = 1127 from a pilot study and 1045 from the present study) was identified based on the availability of the mercury concentration of cord tissue as a measure of prenatal methylmercury exposure, data on 247 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), as well as the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Intelligence Quotient (IQ) scores. Log10-transformed mercury concentration was positively associated with IQ, but adjustment confounding cofactors attenuated this association. Enhanced interaction with methylmercury was replicated in the new study for the minor allele of rs1042838 (progesterone receptor) (Beta; 95% Confidence Interval) = (-11.8; -23.0, -0.6) (P-for-interaction = 0.004) and weakly for rs662 (paraoxonase 1) (-3.6; -11.4, 4.3) (P = 0.117). In the joint sample, new interacting single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were discovered in relation to superoxide dismutase 2, ATP binding cassette subfamily A member 1, and metallothionein 1M genes. While the low-level prenatal exposure to methylmercury was not associated with child cognition, progesterone receptor rs1042838 minor alleles revealed a negative association of mercury exposure with IQ.
... Alarmingly, child obesity in the United Kingdom is similarly increasing and by 2050 nearly 60% of boys aged between 6 and 10 years will be obese compared to the girls (The NHS Information Center LS, statistics-on-obesityphysical-activity-and-diet.pdf,2010). In the United States, obesity has been estimated to cost about $100 billion annually due to both management of co-morbid diseases and significant challenges faced by the obese, especially the social stigma leading to poor outcome in education and hence increase in unemployment (Northstone et al., 2012;Panuganti and Lenehan, 2018). The prevalence of obesity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is projected to increase from 12% in men and 21% women in 1992 to 41% in men and 78% in women by 2022 (Al-Quwaidhi et al., 2014). ...
... Common health disabilities and disorders associated with obesity frequently include learning disabilities, depression, asthma, sleep disorders in the young and ischemia, infarction, hypertension, arthritis, stroke, diabetes, and several types of cancers in adults (Northstone et al., 2012;Sepulveda et al., 2018;Villareal et al., 2005). Insights into the underlying factors and mechanisms involved in obesity will help in developing the means to limit the associated morbidity and mortality. ...
Obesity is a chronic disorder that is associated with body mass index (BMI) of greater or equal to 30 kg/m ² . The prevalence of obesity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is increasing at an alarming rate and is expected to reach 41% in men and up to 78% in women by 2022. Since chemokines are associated with involuntary weight loss, the objective of this study was to elucidate their association with BMI among Saudis. A questionnaire was used to collect information about diet, health conditions, and demographics from 15 men and 16 women who participated in the study. BMI was calculated based on clinical measurements and participants were classified according to their BMI category as: normal, underweight, overweight, or obese. Serum samples were collected for a multiplex assay using the Human Chemokine Magnetic 30-plex panel. The serum concentration of either the monokine induced by gamma interferon (MIG) or the CXC-motif chemokine ligand 9 (CXCL-9) was significantly increased in obese men (P = 0.0194) and women (P = 0.043) as compared to underweight men and women, respectively. However, the serum levels of other chemokines were not significantly different among the groups. We found that MIG levels are differentially regulated in serum, based on individuals’ BMI.
... The growth of height, weight, and head and chest circumference are part of physical growth and increase vital signs as well as physiological ones (4). Regarding the IQ of children, it is very difficult to predict and it can vary according to geographical location, age, gender, socio-economic factors (5), poor diet with high fat (6), and school environment (7). Despite controversies about the meaning and nature of general intelligence, few would dispute the claim that scores on standardized intelligence quotient (IQ) tests are strong predictors of important outcomes for members of both majority and minority groups. ...
Abstract:Background: The present investigation was an attempt to study the levels of intelligence among children from urban and ruralareas, in Jammu Division.Method: A cross sectional study in which we explored the IQ of school going children in the age group (11-17) with sample size880 consisting 400 from rural and 480 from urban. Intelligence Quotient Score by Dr. P. Shrinivasan verbal intelligence testcollected in pre-designed questionnaire in the class room without the presence of school administration so that student feel free inthe class room to fill the information given in the questionnaire explained by the researcher.Result: Out of 880 children screened, nearly (43) 4.9 % students were superior, (282) 32% students were average student, and(376) 42.7% were borderline and (179) 20.3% were feeble minded. In Rural and Urban area we found (10)2.5% and (33)6.9%were superior children. Also we found (80)20% and (99) 20.6% were Feeble minded children in Rural and Urban area. Afterapplying chi-square test we found the value of p > 0.05 then we reject the null hypothesis and conclude that there is associationbetween children IQ according to area wise this means area play important role for good IQ of children.Conclusion: Bearing in mind the status of IQ among the school going children in Rural and Urban Area. We found studentsbelong to Urban areas have better IQ than Rural.Keywords: IQ, Rural, Urban, school children
(PDF) Estimating IQ level of the students of Rural and urban areas in jammu division. Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/381520707_Estimating_IQ_level_of_the_students_of_Rural_and_urban_areas_in_jammu_division [accessed Jun 19 2024].
... There are some special tests to measure different types of development of children, and intelligence quotient (IQ) testing is one method to measure cognitive development. Regarding the IQ of children, it is very difficult to predict and it can vary according to geographical location, age, gender, socio-economic factors [8], poor diet with high fat [9], and school environment [10]. Currently, the problem of child obesity has been highlighted in developed countries but factors related to child growth and development in developing countries are less noticed [11][12][13]. ...
Introduction The intelligence quotient (IQ) represents a composite score on a variety of tests designed to measure a hypothesised general ability or intelligence However, there are a limited number of studies looking specifically at IQ levels in people. It is expected that examining the available literature in this area would be helpful in providing information about intellectual functioning, investigating how comparable neuropsychological studies from different academic groups are in the context of IQ estimation, helping to clarify what the most appropriate IQ measure would be for future studies, and exploring any association between severity of illness (measured by Body Mass Index (BMI)) and IQ levels. We conducted a survey on school going children of Jammu division to determine the risk factor affecting their IQ. Globally, about 668 million children are studying at the elementary school level, which is the largest proportion of the total population [2].The growth and development of these children progress simultaneously and are influenced by different factors [3]. Growth and development starts before infancy and continues up to the adolescent period [4]. Physical growth is the geometric growth of cells and can be directly observed. The growth of height, weight, and head and chest circumference are part of physical growth and increase vital signs as well as physiological ones [5].Height and weight can be measured by body mass index (BMI). Likewise, child development can be observed in motor, emotional, social and cognitive developments [6, 7]. Compared to physical growth, it is difficult to measure cognitive development. There are some special tests to measure different types of development of children, and intelligence quotient (IQ) testing is one method to measure cognitive development. Regarding the IQ of children, it is very difficult to predict and it can vary according to geographical location, age, gender, socioeconomic factors [8], poor diet with high fat [9], and school environment [10]. Currently, the problem of child obesity has been highlighted in developed countries but factors related to child growth and development in developing countries are less noticed [11-13]. Globally, more than one-third and 60% of families in developing countries are suffering from poor nutrition and this impact would reflect in the physical and cognitive development of children [14, 15]. The prevalence of underweight children is four times higher (24%) in the rural areas of India in comparison with obese children [16]. The BMI of children was average in those areas where parent education was good [17-20]. Likewise, the IQ of children is influenced by the consumption of several nutritional factors [21]. Boss [25] and Robert Havighurst [26] have developed a theory of physical growth and cognitive development. It explains that individual factors such as age, gender, disease/illness, and household factors such as economics, food consumption pattern, education, school environment, as well as other factors related to gene and hormone composition, influence the BMI and IQ of children. Social inequality during the childhood period and the social context are equally responsible for child health status and overall development, including intelligence [27]. Studies in South Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam, reveal that undernourishment and poor IQ level should be explored together [28]. Nevertheless, most previous studies explored the situation of abnormal children rather than apparently healthy children, focusing on the social context and school environment in relation to physical growth and cognitive status especially in children from elementary school. There are rare studies related to the BMI and IQ of children in developing countries and especially in remote areas. In those areas, there is a high proportion of poverty and food insecurity. Current studies focus more on genetic and disease-related factors affecting IQ and BMI rather than socioeconomic factors. In Nepal, more than half of children less than three years of age [29] and about one-fifth of preliminary school children suffer from stunting and underweight, and the prevalence is higher in remote and ultra-poor families [30]. The National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS) 2011 revealed that in mountain districts of Nepal, including the Humla district, 29% of children below the age of five years were underweight, 8% were severely underweight, 11% were wasted, 3% were severely wasted, 41% were short for their age and 16% were severely stunted [31]. Humla is a very remote area of Nepal where about half of the population is under the poverty line. Food insecurity is extreme because there is less production of food and locally produced food is perceived as less nutritious and most of the people rely on imported food [32]. Transportation of food by air is expensive and is done by porters, which takes a long time. As a result, a proportion of nutrients is lost during the time of carrying and storage [33]. One-third of the children are not enrolled in school and the drop-out rate is also high [34]. Further, the environment is not appropriate for learning since most of the parents have had no formal education [35]. In the Humla district, 28.2% of children were undernour-ished, 8.8% were wasted and 22.4% were stunted among those less than five years old [36], but the nutritional status and the IQ level of elementary school children are seldom investigated. The theory of physical growth and cognitive development and empirical findings indicate that socioeconomic factors, parents' education and food sources affect the BMI and IQ of school children. So, the aim of this study is to identify and model the risk factors for IQ of school going children of Jammu division. Despite controversies about the meaning and nature of general intelligence, few would dispute the claim that scores on standardized intelligence quotient (IQ) tests are strong predictors of important outcomes for members of both majority and minority groups. IQ scores are not immutable; repeated IQ testing during childhood reveals considerable change within individuals (37). However, the causes of IQ change (beyond unreliability) remain unclear. An inverse relation between IQ and age has been reported in groups of children living under various conditions of deprivation (38-41). This evidence, which suggests a decline in IQ with increasing age among socially disadvantaged children, is based on cross-sectional studies of a typical groups conducted several decades ago. Furthermore, familial and community contributions to IQ change were not distinguished in these studies. ABSTRACT Background: The focus of our study is to estimate the risk factors which influence the IQ level of school going children.
... El desarrollo del cerebro requiere nutrientes esenciales, lo que implica que la nutrición juega un papel importante dentro de las infancias y un papel clave en la primera etapa de desarrollo. Por ejemplo, una dieta alta en contenido de azucares, grasas y ultraprocesados durante la primera infancia se ha asociado con puntuaciones más bajas en la capacidad verbal y mayores dificultades en pensamiento matemático (Northstone et al., 2012;Øverby et al., 2013). ...
El presente estudio explora los hallazgos en neurociencias en relación con la neuroeducación y educación de investigaciones realizadas en México y/o investigadores Mexicanos. En este estudio, se buscó realizar una revisión de producción científica sobre hallazgos neurocientíficos relacionados al medio ambiente, con sus variables y su relación con la neuroeducación en México a través de la minería de datos. Se realizó mediante la utilización de Lenguaje R, con la exploración de la base de datos PubMed. Después de los, 76844 registros encontrados se realizó una diseminación con base a los objetivos de investigación, la muestra final fue de 13 artículos. La minería de datos resultó ser una metodología de trabajo que dinamiza el análisis de documentos, a su vez, permite al investigador poder explorar con otras herramientas como el análisis de sentimientos o minería de opiniones que propician nuevas formas y oportunidades para realizar procesos de investigación con la literatura existente en la web.
... The scientific community has extensively studied the impacts of processed foods on human health (1). Studies have found that the consumption of processed foods could potentially have an adverse effect on the human brain by lowering cognitive abilities such as memory, executive function, and intelligence quotient (2,3). Past analyses have also indicated that, among mice, fatty and processed foods can increase the risk of dementia by preventing neurons from responding to the hormone insulin (4). ...
The current study aimed to compare the short-term effects of processed versus unprocessed food on spatial learning and survival in zebrafish (Danio rerio). Given public concern regarding processed foods, the results of the current study can inform consumer decision-making. We hypothesized that an unprocessed diet would improve learning and survival. Zebrafish were randomly assigned to a diet of brine shrimp flakes (processed) or live brine shrimp (unprocessed). Spatial learning was evaluated throughout the study by recording fish decisions (correct vs. incorrect) and time taken for decision. Our results show no statistically significant difference in the proportion of correct decisions or in the time taken to make decisions when the groups are compared. Notably, fish receiving unprocessed food had significantly lower mortality than those receiving processed food (p = 0.027). We concluded that while the zebrafish make progressively better and faster decisions, diet type does not contribute to improved learning. However, consumption of unprocessed diet may have survival benefits in stressful environments. Future studies may further analyze this association, utilizing larger sample size and longer study duration to clearly assess the effects of long-term exposure to an unprocessed vs. raw unprocessed diet on learning. While it is an association that needs further evaluation, the current study indicates the potential benefits of an unprocessed diet in coping with stress. Considering that zebrafish are effective models of human cognition, this has implications for human consumption of processed vs. unprocessed foods as well.
... In the current study, in both obese and non-obese groups, there was no significant correlation between IQ and food intake variables. In a study, Kata et al. (32) investigated the association between dietary pattern and IQ at 8 years of age. They found that a poor diet with high fat, sugar and processed food in early childhood may be related to little decreases in IQ in later childhood, while a healthy diet may be related to little elevations in IQ in later childhood. ...
... Children's cognitive development interacts concurrently with a long list of environmental exposures in daily life [11]. Exposures include those modifiable by prevention and intervention efforts, such as living in a neighborhood lacking amenities or greenery [12,13]; dietary patterns [14,15]; exposure to child abuse and neglect [16,17]; parenting behaviors [18,19]; parental educational level [20,21] maternal mental health [22,23]; and household financial conditions [24,25]. However, existing studies were limited by considering single, or a restricted number of modifiable factors within the same population, additional factors may be overlooked or unknown [26]. ...
Growing evidence exists about the candidate factors of childhood cognitive performance, but mainly limited to single-exposure studies. We sought to systematically and simultaneously identify and validate a wide range of potential modifiable factors for childhood cognitive performance. We used data from five waves of data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS-2010, 2012, 2014, 2016 and 2018). Our analytical sample was restricted to those children aged 2–5 at baseline with valid exposure information. A total of 80 modifiable factors were identified. Childhood cognitive performance was assessed using vocabulary and mathematics test at wave 5. We used an environment-wide association study (EnWAS) to screen all exposure-outcome associations independently and used the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) variable selection algorithm to identify factors associated with cognitive performance. Multivariable linear model was then used to evaluate causal relationships between identified factors and cognitive performance. Of the 1305 participants included in the study (mean ± SD, 3.5 ± 1.1 years age at baseline, 45.1% girls). Eight factors were retained in the LASSO regression analysis. Six factors across community characteristics (percentage of poverty in the community; percentage of children in the community), household characteristics (family size), child health and behaviors (mobile internet access), parenting behaviors and cognitive enrichment (parental involvement in child’ s education), and parental wellbeing (paternal happiness) domains were significantly associated with childhood cognition. Using a three-stage approach, this study validates several actionable targets for improving childhood cognitive performance.
... For instance, a better diet quality [14] or a prudent dietary pattern at different ages through childhood is linked to higher intelligence quotient (IQ) scores of children and adolescents [15], even when accounting for socioeconomic status and home environment. In contrast, children and adolescents with higher adherence to a western-like dietary pattern showed diminished cognitive functioning and lower IQ scores [16,17]. Among the complex mechanisms underlying the relation between diet and cognitive performance, structural brain alteration may be a detectable neurobiological marker on the pathway. ...
Dietary patterns in childhood have been associated with child neurodevelopment and cognitive performance, while the underlying neurobiological pathway is unclear. We aimed to examine associations of dietary patterns in infancy and mid-childhood with pre-adolescent brain morphology, and whether diet-related differences in brain morphology mediate the relation with cognition. We included 1888 and 2326 children with dietary data at age one or eight years, respectively, and structural neuroimaging at age 10 years in the Generation R Study. Measures of brain morphology were obtained using magnetic resonance imaging. Dietary intake was assessed using food-frequency questionnaires, from which we derived diet quality scores based on dietary guidelines and dietary patterns using principal component analyses. Full scale IQ was estimated using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fifth Edition at age 13 years. Children with higher adherence to a dietary pattern labeled as ‘Snack, processed foods and sugar’ at age one year had smaller cerebral white matter volume at age 10 (B = -4.3, 95%CI -6.9, -1.7). At age eight years, higher adherence to a ‘Whole grains, soft fats and dairy’ pattern was associated with a larger total brain (B = 8.9, 95%CI 4.5, 13.3), and larger cerebral gray matter volumes at age 10 (B = 5.2, 95%CI 2.9, 7.5). Children with higher diet quality and better adherence to a ‘Whole grains, soft fats and dairy’ dietary pattern at age eight showed greater brain gyrification and larger surface area, clustered primarily in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. These observed differences in brain morphology mediated associations between dietary patterns and IQ. In conclusion, dietary patterns in early- and mid-childhood are associated with differences in brain morphology which may explain the relation between dietary patterns and neurodevelopment in children.
... Sedangkan skor IQ lebih rendah ditemukan pada anak yang mengonsumsi margarin setiap hari (Theodore et al., 2009). Anak usia 3 tahun yang terbiasa mengonsumsi makanan sehat memiliki skor IQ lebih tinggi dibandingkan anak yang terbiasa mengonsumsi makanan olahan yang tinggi lemak dan gula (Northstone et al., 2012). ...
Tujuan dari penulisan buku ini tidak lain adalah untuk membantu dalam memahami konsep serta komponen yang terkait kesehatan anak usia dini.
Buku ini juga akan memberikan informasi secara lengkap mengenai:
Bab 1 Pengertian dan Hakikat Kesehatan Pada Anak Usia Dini
Bab 2 Konsep Sehat dan Gangguan Kesehatan Pada AUD
Bab 3 Konsep Dasar Ilmu Gizi dan Sejarah Perkembangannya
Bab 4 Peran Gizi Dalam Tumbuh Kembang Anak
Bab 5 Gizi dan Nutrisi Untuk Tumbuh Kembang Anak
Bab 6 Jenis dan Fungsi Gizi Dalam Tubuh
Bab 7 Gizi Seimbang Pada Anak Usia Dini
Bab 8 Kebutuhan Zat Gizi Anak Usia Dini (AUD)
Bab 9 Dasar-Dasar Penilaian Status Gizi
Bab 10 Masalah-Masalah Kekurangan Gizi
Bab 11 Kecukupan Gizi dan Syarat Makanan Anak Usia Dini
Bab 12 Syarat Pemberian Zat Gizi Anak Usia Dini
Bab 13 Pendidikan Gizi Bagi Anak Usia Dini (AUD)
... Previous findings reported that children with persistent OR: Odd Ratio; CI: Confidence Interval *Significant odds ratio using complex sample logistic regression at p < 0.05 **Significant odds ratio using complex sample logistic regression at p < 0.001 Model adjusting for socio-demographic variables: child's gender, ethnicity, age and household income feeding difficulties, specifically picky eating behaviour, showed significant negative impact not only on growth status but also their cognitive function (3,17). A previous study by Northstone et al. (49) found that practising a healthier diet high in fruit and vegetables, lean meat, and wholegrains can improve cognition. Conversely, an unhealthy diet with less nutrient-dense food, high sugar, and high saturated fat may limit optimal neurological development (50). ...
Introduction: Picky eating behaviour was linked to nutritional problems due to limited dietary variety. This study aimed to determine the causes and consequences associated with picky eating behaviour among school-aged children in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Methods: A total of 339 children aged seven to nine years participated in this cross-sectional study. Socio-demographic factors, eating behaviours and child/ parental feeding style were assessed through parent’s questionnaires, while eating habits of children were accessed through child’s questionnaire. Body height and weight were measured; body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Cognitive function level was determined using the Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices test. Results: One third (38%) of the children were picky eaters and consumed lesser vegetables (χ2=4.49,p=0.034) and fish (χ2=5.55,p=0.019), but more milk and dairy products (χ2=3.91,p=0.048), snacks (χ2=6.25,p=0.012) and fast food (χ2=7.35,p=0.007) compared to non-picky eaters. Picky eaters were more likely to have normal weight status based on weight-for-age, height-for-age and BMI-for-age compared to non-picky eaters (p<0.05). Picky eaters came from a household with other picky eaters in the family and their parents tend to use an instrumental feeding style. Picky eaters had a poorer cognitive function compared to non-picky eaters (p=0.03). Conclusion: We did not find significant differences in growth parameters between picky and non-picky eaters but picky eaters were more likely to have a poorer cognitive function. As parental feeding styles significantly influenced children’s eating behaviour, interventions should target parents to improve their children’s dietary variety.
... Maternal score 21:46 are in line with other European studies which have found that higher adherence to healthy dietary patterns is associated with improved school performance [24] and higher childhood IQ [38]. We did not observe an association at 5 years (language) with high vs. low or medium maternal NND adherence, which could imply that other factors than maternal diet during pregnancy may be of more importance for language development by this age. ...
Background
The rapid neurodevelopment that occurs during the first years of life hinges on adequate nutrition throughout fetal life and early childhood. Therefore, adhering to a dietary pattern based on healthy foods during pregnancy and the first years of life may be beneficial for future development. The aim of this paper was to investigate the relationship between adherence to a healthy and potentially sustainable Nordic diet during pregnancy and in early childhood and child development.
Methods
This study is based on the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa) and uses data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway (MBRN). In 83,800 mother-child pairs, maternal pregnancy diet and child diet at 6 months, 18 months and 3 years were scored according to adherence to the New Nordic Diet (NND). NND scores were calculated both as a total score and categorized into low, medium, or high adherence. Child communication and motor development skills were reported by parents at 6 months, 18 months, 3 and 5 years, using short forms of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire and the Child Development Inventory. Associations of NND adherence with child development were estimated with linear and logistic regression in crude and adjusted models.
Results
When examining the NND and child developmental scores as percentages of the total scores, we found positive associations between the NND scores (both maternal pregnancy diet and child diet) and higher scoring on child development (adjusted β ^ s [95% confidence intervals] ranging from 0.007 [0.004, 0.009] to 0.045 [0.040, 0.050]). We further found that low and medium adherence to NND were associated with higher odds of later emerging developmental skills compared to high NND adherence at nearly all measured timepoints (odds ratios [95% CI] ranging from significant values 1.15 [1.03–1.29] to 1.79 [1.55, 2.06] in adjusted analyses).
Conclusions
Our findings support that adherence to a healthy and potentially sustainable diet early in life is important for child development every step of the way from pregnancy until age 5 years.
... For instance, a better diet quality [14] or a prudent dietary pattern at different ages through childhood is linked to higher IQ scores of children and adolescents [15], even when accounting for socioeconomic status. In contrast, children and adolescents with higher adherence to a western-like dietary pattern showed diminished cognitive functioning and lower IQ scores [16,17]. Neuroimaging studies have identi ed positive links between IQ and alterations in both global and regional brain volumetric measures in children measured using structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) [18,19], although the in uence of nutrition on the neurobiological underpinnings of cognitive performance has been less well studied. ...
Dietary patterns in childhood have been associated with child neurodevelopment and cognitive performance, while the underlying neurobiological pathway is unclear. We aimed to examine associations of dietary patterns in infancy and mid-childhood with pre-adolescent brain morphology. We included 1888 and 2326 children with dietary data at age one or eight years, respectively, and structural neuroimaging at age 10 years in the Generation R Study. Measures of brain morphology were obtained using magnetic resonance imaging. Dietary intake was assessed using food-frequency questionnaires, from which we calculated diet quality scores based on dietary guidelines and from which derived dietary patterns using principal component analyses. Associations were examined using regression models adjusted for potential confounding and controlled for multiple testing. At age one year, children with higher adherence to dietary patterns labeled as ‘Snack, processed foods and sugar’ had smaller cerebral white matter volume (B = -4.30, 95%CI -6.92, -1.68). At age eight years, higher adherence to diet patterns labeled as ‘Whole grains, soft fats and dairy’ was associated with a larger total brain (B = 8.93, 95%CI 4.54, 13.32), and larger cerebral gray matter volumes (B = 5.17, 95%CI 2.86, 7.48). Children with higher diet quality and better adherence to a ‘Whole grains, soft fats and dairy’ dietary pattern at age eight years showed greater brain gyrification and larger surface area, clustered primarily in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In conclusion, dietary patterns in early- and mid-childhood are associated with differences in brain morphology. These findings may explain part of the previously reported relation between dietary patterns and neurodevelopment in children.
... On the other hand, the association between behavioral CVH and verbal IQ was only borderline significant. BMI (40), diet (41), and physical activity levels (42) in early childhood have been related to cognition in childhood; however, measurement errors by the parents reporting the children's diet and physical activity, inclusion of homogeneous healthy children, and the relatively small sample size of the study may explain the insignificant result. ...
Background
Early childhood may represent an opportune time to commence primordial prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD, i.e., prevention of risk factors onset), but epidemiological evidence is scarce. We aimed to examine the distribution and parental and early life determinants of ideal cardiovascular health (CVH) in children up to 5 years and to compare the level of cognitive development between children with and without ideal CVH at age 5 years.
Methods
Using data from the Etude sur les déterminants pré et post natals précoces du Développement psychomoteur et de la santé de l'Enfant (EDEN) study, a French population-based mother–child cohort study, CVH was examined in children at 5 years of age based on the American Heart Association CVH metrics (ideal body mass index, physical activity, diet, blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose levels, and passive smoking, considered in sensitivity analysis only). Children were categorized as having ideal (five to six ideal metrics) or non-ideal CVH (<5 ideal metrics). Intelligence quotient (IQ) at age 5 years was assessed using the French version of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence.
Results
Among the 566 children (55% boys), only 34% had ideal CVH. In fully adjusted logistic regression, boys compared to girls (OR = 1.77, 95% CI 1.13–2.78), children with intermediate (1.77, 1.05–2.98) or ideal (2.58, 1.38–4.82) behavioral CVH at age 3 years and children who spent < 30 min/day watching television (1.91, 1.09–3.34) at age 3 years were more likely to have ideal CVH at age 5 years. At age 5 years, there was a significant 2.98-point difference (95% CI 0.64–5.32) in IQ between children with and without ideal biological CVH after adjusting for confounders.
Conclusion
This study highlights that only a third of children aged 5 years had ideal CVH and identified modifiable determinants of ideal CVH and is suggestive of an association between CVH and neurodevelopment at a young age.
... Previous studies in children and older adults have examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between dietary patterns and cognition and have generally shown that intake of healthier dietary patterns-characterized by intake of foods such as fruits, vegetables, and fish-was associated with better cognitive outcomes (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23). These findings underline the importance of diet quality throughout the life span on cognition and raise a question on the extent to which maternal diet quality during pregnancy, arguably the most sensitive period for brain development, may play a role in neurodevelopment. ...
Background
Maternal intake of several nutrients during pregnancy is linked to offspring cognition. The relationship between maternal dietary patterns and offspring cognition is less established.
Objective
To examine associations of maternal diet quality during pregnancy with child cognition and behavior.
Design
Among 1580 mother-child pairs in Project Viva, a prospective pre-birth cohort, we assessed maternal diet during pregnancy using food frequency questionnaires and evaluated diet quality using modified versions of the Mediterranean Diet Score (MDS-P) and Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI-P). Child cognitive and behavioral outcomes were assessed using standardized tests and questionnaires at infancy, early and mid-childhood. We conducted multivariable linear regression analyses.
Results
Mothers were predominantly white, college-educated, and non-smokers. After adjustment for child age and sex and maternal sociodemographic and lifestyle characteristics, maternal high (6–9) vs. low (0–3) MDS-P during pregnancy was associated with higher child Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (KBIT-II) nonverbal (mean difference for first trimester = 4.54; 95%CI: 1.53, 7.56) and verbal scores (3.78; 95%CI: 1.37, 6.19), and lower Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) Metacognition Index (–1.76; 95%CI: –3.25, –0.27), indicating better intelligence and fewer metacognition problems in mid-childhood. Maternal Q4 vs. Q1 AHEI-P during pregnancy was associated with higher Wide Range Assessment of Visual Motor Abilities matching scores in early childhood (mean difference for first trimester = 2.79; 95%CI: 0.55, 5.04), higher KBIT-II verbal scores (2.59; 95%CI: 0.13, 5.04) and lower BRIEF Global Executive Composite scores in mid-childhood (–1.61; 95%CI: –3.20, –0.01), indicating better visual spatial skills, verbal intelligence and executive function.
Conclusions
Maternal intake of a better quality diet during pregnancy was associated with better visual spatial skills in the offspring at early childhood, and better intelligence and executive function in the offspring at mid-childhood.
... Jeong et al., 2005;Lokken et al., 2009;Reinert et al., 2013). De plus, la consommation de régimes riches en lipides et en sucres pendant l'enfance (évalué à 3, 4, 7 et 8 ans) engendre une diminution du QI (quotient intellectuel, score visant à évaluer la cognition générale, mesuré à 8 ans, Northstone et al., 2012). ...
L’obésité, considérée comme pandémique, est associée à l’apparition de troubles cognitifs et émotionnels chez l’Homme comme chez l’animal. La prévalence de l’obésité augmente de manière drastique chez les enfants et les adolescents. Or l’adolescence est une période primordiale pour la maturation des structures cérébrales (notamment l’hippocampe et l’amygdale) qui vont sous-tendre les processus cognitifs pour le restant de la vie de l’individu. Cependant, aucune étude n’avait investigué la potentielle vulnérabilité de cette période développementale aux effets de l’obésité sur la mémoire, comparativement à l’âge adulte. Nous avons donc effectué cette comparaison chez le rongeur, en modélisant l’obésité par une exposition à un régime hyper-lipidique (HL) pendant une période incluant l’adolescence versus à l’âge adulte uniquement (i.e. excluant l’adolescence). Nous mettons en évidence que l’obésité induite à l’adolescence provoque des altérations mnésiques, qui ne sont pas retrouvés lorsque l’obésité est induite à l’âge adulte. La majorité des études sur les effets de l’obésité ayant mis en évidence une altération des mémoires dépendantes de l’hippocampe, nous nous sommes tout d’abord focalisés sur les fonctions hippocampiques. Nous avons ensuite exploré le système amygdalien, impliqué dans les mémoires émotionnelles et peu étudié dans le cadre de l’obésité. Ces deux systèmes fonctionnels ont été appréhendés au travers d’approches comportementales visant à évaluer les performances mnésiques, mais également d’approches d’imagerie cellulaire et d’électrophysiologie afin d’évaluer la plasticité cellulaire au sein de ces structures. Nous mettons en évidence que l’obésité induite à l’adolescence impacte la mémoire et la plasticité de ces systèmes de manière bidirectionnelle en dégradant les fonctions hippocampiques et en exacerbant les fonctions amygdaliennes. Concernant les mécanismes impliqués dans ces effets nous mettons en évidence l’existence d’une exacerbation de la réponse inflammatoire spécifiquement au niveau de l’hippocampe chez les animaux exposés au régime HL à l’adolescence, ce qui pourrait expliquer les déficits des fonctions hippocampiques. Enfin, nous montrons que la dérégulation de l’axe corticotrope chez ces animaux est responsable des effets comportementaux et cellulaires observés au niveau des fonctions amygdaliennes. L’ensemble de ces résultats montre l’urgence de développer les études sur l’obésité juvénile, dont les effets importants sur les fonctions cognitives et émotionnelles pourraient engendrer une altération importante de la qualité de vie et une prise en charge accrue de ces sujets tout au long de leur vie.
... We found a strong inverse association between consumption of sugary drinks and SPM scores in both univariable and multivariable analyses. Consumption of sugary drinks is an indicator of poor diet and previous studies have shown that a diet high in fats and sugar is associated with decreased intelligence and school performance 45,46 . We did not collect extensive data on diet, but consumption of meals prepared outside the home was significant predictor of cognitive function in univariable analysis, which highlights the importance of diet in our setting. ...
To investigate factors associated with cognitive functioning in healthy adolescents, a school-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 1370 adolescents aged 11–16 years that were randomly selected from all governorates of Kuwait. Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM), a non-verbal test of intelligence, was used to measure cognitive functioning of the study participants. Data on predictors of cognitive functioning were collected from parents and adolescents. Weight and height of the participants were measured in a standardized manner and blood samples were tested in an accredited laboratory under strict measures of quality control. In multivariable linear regression analysis, factors that showed significant association with the SPM score were gender (p = 0.002), season of birth (p = 0.009), place of residence (p < 0.001), father’s (p < 0.001) and mother’s (p = 0.025) educational level, type of housing (p < 0.001), passive smoking at home (p = 0.031), sleeping hours during weekends (p = 0.017), students’ educational level (p < 0.001) and the frequency of consumption of sugary drinks (p < 0.001). The link between cognitive functioning and season of birth seems to be robust in various geographical locations including the Middle East. The association between sugary drinks and cognitive functioning highlights the importance of diet independently of obesity and support efforts to reduce consumption of sugary drinks among children.
... Many researchers, in national and international organizations, have conducted studies based on junk food consumption and have found that there is a linkage between function (physical and cognitive) and proper diet and the body [15][16][17][18]. In this regard, proper nutrition facilitates the development of the body and mind among children and adolescents [19,20]. ...
Consumption of junk food among adolescents has been recognized as a serious health problem in the world. Therefore, this study aims to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention program (interactive lecture) based on the theory of planned behavior (TPB) for reducing junk food consumption among school adolescents in Birgunj Metropolitan City, Nepal. A structured questionnaire was deployed for collecting the data from four government schools. Pretest and Posttest group study design and simple random sampling techniques were used. A multiple linear regression model and a paired t-test were used to assess the effectiveness of an educational intervention program. The theory of planned behavior indicates that behavioral intention of junk food consumption was different in pretest and posttest [5.43 ± 1.3 and 7.96 ± 0.3]. Furthermore, the average score of attitude toward junk food consumption was 11.9 ± 1.5 and 16.3 ± 1.6. Meanwhile, perceived behavior control (PBC) toward junk food was also different after intervention [2.42 ± 0.50 and 3.13 ± 0.58]. The interactive lecture method was proved an effective education program for changing the intentions of adolescent students and preventing them from consuming junk food which were statistically significant (
... Many observational studies have shown a link between low overall diet quality and poor academic performance. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children found that a diet high in fat and sugar at 3 years of age was negatively associated with IQ at 8.5 years of age (14). Furthermore, a high relative intake of nutrient-rich foods at 8.5 years of age was positively associated with IQ. ...
The implementation of nutrition policies and guidelines in Canadian schools has increased the availability and consumption of nutrient-rich foods while reducing access to and consumption of foods and beverages that are high in sugars, sodium, and saturated fats. Positive changes in health outcomes for children and youth, such as improved body mass indices, have been observed. However, observed impacts of school nutrition policies on academic performance have been mixed. This statement reviews key elements of school nutrition policies, with specific focus on nutrition standards. School nutrition policies should align with recommendations in Canada's Food Guide and promote nutrient-rich foods and beverages that are lower in saturated fat, sugar, and sodium.
... There has been considerable research on diet and behavior (see Gómez-Pinilla 2008;Kristjánsson et al. 2010;Northstone et al. 2012), but there are a number of reasons why it has been difficult to interpret the findings and apply them to real-life settings. First, most studies take a univariate approach and consider a dietary variable in isolation. ...
... In the UK, many studies of this type have been undertaken using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), the Southampton Women's Survey, the Low Income Diet and Nutrition Survey (LIDNS), and the British Prospective Cohort. Findings from dietary patterns studies using these datasets in the last decade include: an association between energy dense dietary patterns and childhood obesity [23,24]; an association between dietary patterns of men, socio-economic measures and nutrient intake [25]; poor diet in early childhood may be associated with small reductions in intelligence quotient (IQ) in later childhood [26]; an association between dietary patterns and educational attainment in children [27]; an association between energy density of diet in middle life with breast density 15 years later [28]; and a 'prudent' diet may protect against impaired lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [29]. ...
... Cross-sectional data of school-aged children linked dietary intake of omega-3 fatty acids to increased memory performance [41,42] , while consumption of food rich in saturated fatty acids and refined sugar was associated with decreased memory performance. [ [43,44] A controlled healthy school meal intervention over three years in more than 80,000 children led to improved mathematics, English and science achievement. [45] Promotion of healthier school food at lunchtime and changes in the school dining environment over 12 weeks improved classroom on-task behavior in preschool children compared to controls. ...
The prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity has increased markedly in most countries during the past several decades. Obese individuals often have a reduced life expectancy and increased healthcare needs, mostly due to the increased risk of co-morbidities. Publications were identified through keywords in the databases like PubMed, Trip database, Google Scholar. Predefined eligibility criteria were applied to include only relevant articles. Three stage screening was performed to explore the suitability of the articles. The association between obesity and cognitive function was more consistently found within the domain of executive function which is important for physical health, mental health, and success. The interplay between obesity and brain function relates to executive function (EF), which refers to self-regulatory cognitive processes that are associated with monitoring and controlling both thought and goal-directed behaviors. Intentional weight loss via caloric restriction in elderly obese subjects with mild cognitive impairment could slow the cognitive decline. While it has been suggested that fast food consumption may be linked to weight gain and obesity. Obesity might contribute to impaired executive functioning. In particular reduction in body mass leads to improved executive functioning. Physical activity may affect cognitive function and academic achievement. Lifestyle interventions can improve health and reduce co-morbidities in children, and thus may benefit cognitive and educational outcomes, by reducing sources of metabolic and psychosocial stress, and by improving those neurocognitive abilities associated with weight gain.
The present study is aimed to assess the nutritional status and cognitive performances of some preschool children (57.2-71.39 months). The study was performed on 39 children 51% were girls and 49% were boys with a mean age of 53.59±1.85 months. All children from cities Giza government. The obtained data showed that mean value body weight, height, body mass index (BMI), and mid upper arm circumference (MUAC) were 16.97±0.26 kg, 101.7±0.98 cm, 16.47±0.21kg/m 2 , and 14.01±0.33 cm respectively. According to the food intake analysis, the mean value intake of total energy, protein, fat, and carbohydrate was 985.08±32.79 kcal, 33.74±1.12 g, 33.98±1.28 g, and 110.96±3.89 g respectively. The mean value intake of some minerals (Iodine, Iron, Selenium, and Zinc) was 81.64±5.49µg, 9.71±0.49 mg, and 42.79±2.67µg and 4.77±0.22 mg respectively. The mean value intake of some vitamins (Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, and Vitamin C) was 273.23±25.57 I.U, 0.45±0.06 mg, 0.49±0.03 mg, and 17.01±1.14mg respectively. Some biochemical analyses showed that the mean value urinary iodine was 159.55±3.08 µg/l, and blood hemoglobin was 11.5±0.10g/dl. The Wechsler tests were done to calculate student IQ, the mean value of verbal IQ was 103.23±1.18, the mean average of performance IQ was 76.23±2.78, and the mean of total IQ was 94.61±0.93. Finally, this study is importance due to the lack of studies in this stage of childhood and so we recommended that to more investigation need to done at this stage of childhood especially with the increasing interest of the Egyptian government in the healthy nutrition of children.
Intelligence encompasses the capacity for critical thinking, learning from experiences, problem-solving, and adapting to new situations. The Intelligence Quotient (IQ) serves as a metric to gauge human intelligence derived from standardised tests or subtests designed for this purpose. In Ayurveda, this cognitive ability aligns with the concept of Medha (intelligence), involving a comprehensive understanding of existing knowledge, combining elements such as buddhi (intellective faculty), smriti (recollecting memory), and dhriti (grasping power). In contemporary scientific terms, these components collectively represent IQ. It is crucial to recognise that achieving a high IQ is influenced by various factors, including prenatal conditions (maternal nutrition and health), events during birth, postnatal circumstances, environment, and daily routines. Optimal IQ in children requires consistent attention to the mother's nutrition from the perinatal period up to early childhood, considering the prenatal, natal, and postnatal environments. Proper monitoring, coupled with adequate food and healthcare for the mother, can contribute to achieving optimal IQ in the child. Nutrition plays a vital role in cognitive development during early childhood, influencing brain growth and intellect. Unfortunately, parents often overlook this critical factor. Certain elements, such as nimitta (cause and effect knowledge), rupa grahanat (form recognition), sadrishyat (similarity understanding), saviparyaat (contrast comprehension), sattvaanubhandha (mind concentration), abhyasat (practice), gyanayogaat (metaphysical knowledge attainment), and punah srutaat (sequential partial communication), contribute to good memory. The impairment of indriya (sensory organs) can lead to a deficiency in knowledge. Therefore, a holistic approach that considers prenatal, natal, and postnatal factors, coupled with proper nutrition and healthcare, is crucial for fostering optimal intelligence and cognitive development in children.
Good nutrition is a cornerstone of health essential to physical growth and immunity and for reducing susceptibility to disease. Moreover, good nutrition contributes to the development of brain structure and function across the entire spectrum of childhood by providing nutrient building blocks for creating and maintaining neural connections. This contribution of nutrition to brain development is also associated with cognition and academic performance and this chapter reviews evidence examining these associations from the prenatal through to adolescent years. It examines the role of the overall quality of nutrition supplied in the diet and individual nutrients in contributing to cognition and academic outcomes in childhood and explores the potential mechanisms via which these contributions are made. Differences in the acute versus long-term influence of nutrition on influencing cognitive performance in children are highlighted where appropriate. The evidence for the special role of breakfast as a meal contributing to cognitive and academic performance is explored. Nutrients of special interest which may influence cognition in childhood are discussed, followed by a section on the current pandemic of children with overweight and obesity and the link of this disease with diet/energy intake and cognition in children. Throughout the chapter, where available, studies examining nutrition and cognitive outcomes in children in Singapore are included. Finally, recommendations for future research are made.
Importance:
Birth weight percentiles (BWPs) are often dichotomized at the 10th percentile and show statistically significant association with later cognitive performance, for both preterm and term-born children. However, research testing nonlinear associations between BWPs and cognitive performance is scarce.
Objective:
To investigate culturally invariant, nonlinear associations of BWPs and gestational age with later cognitive performance.
Design, setting, and participants:
In this cohort study, participants with valid neonatal and cognitive data were combined from 4 observational cohorts, including the Millennium Cohort Study, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 Child and Young Adult cohort, Growing Up in Ireland, and the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, with children born between 2000 and 2002, 1980 and 2010, 2007 and 2008, and 2003 and 2004, respectively. Neonatal data were parent reported before age 1 year. At approximately 5 years of age, multiple cognitive tests were performed. Follow-up at 5 years of age was the predominant focus. Data were analyzed July 17, 2023.
Exposure:
The parent-reported neonatal data were used to calculate BWPs according to the Fenton growth chart.
Main outcome and measure:
Scores for IQ were created from multiple measures of cognition, which were z standardized separately within each cohort.
Results:
Of 30 643 participants (50.8% male), 7.5% were born preterm (before 37 weeks gestation) and 92.5% were term born (between 37 and 42 weeks gestation). In the pooled data using multivariate adaptive regression splines, IQ linearly increased by 4.2 points as BWPs increased from the first to the 69th percentile before completely plateauing. For gestational age, IQ linearly increased by 1.3 points per week up until 32 weeks, with the association reducing to 0.3 points per week after 32 weeks. The association of BWP with IQ was not moderated by gestational age. For term-born infants, the estimated IQ score was only clinically meaningfully lower than average when birth weight was below the third percentile. Consistent results were found when instead using multivariable regression where gestational age and BWPs were categorized into groups.
Conclusions and relevance:
In this cohort study, lower BWPs and gestational age were independently associated with lower IQ. For term-born infants, a cutoff of the third percentile would be more appropriate than the traditionally used 10th percentile when the aim is estimating meaningful cognitive differences.
Objectives:
Diet plays an important role in cognitive health, but the long-term association of diet early in life with cognitive function in adulthood has not, to our knowledge, been rigorously studied. The aim of this study was to examine the association of youth, adulthood, and long-term dietary patterns from youth to adulthood with cognitive function in midlife.
Methods:
This was a population-based cohort study that assessed dietary intake in 1980 (baseline, participants 3-18 y of age), 1986, 2001, 2007, and 2011 and cognitive function in 2011. Six dietary patterns were derived from 48-h food recall or food frequency questionnaires using factor analysis. The dietary patterns were traditional Finnish, high-carbohydrate, vegetables and dairy products, traditional Finnish and high-carbohydrate, red meat, and healthy. Scores of long-term dietary patterns were calculated as the average between youth and adulthood. Cognitive function outcomes assessed included episodic memory and associative learning, short-term working memory and problem solving, reaction and movement time, and visual processing and sustained attention. Standardized z-scores of exposures and outcomes were used for analyses.
Results:
Participants (n = 790, mean age 11.2 y) were followed up for 31 y. Multivariable models showed that both youth and long-term vegetable and dairy products and healthy patterns were positively associated with episodic memory and associative learning scores (β = 0.080-0.111, P < 0.05 for all). Both youth and long-term traditional Finnish patterns were negatively associated with spatial working memory and problem solving (β = -0.085 and -0.097, respectively; P < 0.05 for both). Long-term high-carbohydrate and traditional Finnish and high-carbohydrate patterns were inversely associated with visual processing and sustained attention, whereas the vegetable and dairy products pattern was positively associated with this cognitive domain (β = -0.117 to 0.073, P < 0.05 for all). Adulthood high-carbohydrate and traditional Finnish and high-carbohydrate patterns were inversely associated with all cognitive domains except for reaction and movement time (β = -0.072 to -0.161, P < 0.05 for all). Both long-term and adulthood red meat pattern were positively associated with visual processing and sustained attention (β = 0.079 and 0.104, respectively; P < 0.05 for both). These effect sizes correspond to approximately 1.6 to 16.1 y of cognitive aging on these cognitive domains.
Conclusions:
Higher adherence to traditional Finnish, high-carbohydrate, and traditional Finnish and high-carbohydrate patterns across the early life course was associated with poorer cognitive function in midlife, whereas higher adherence to healthy and vegetable and dairy product patterns was associated with better cognitive function. The findings, if causative, highlight the importance of maintaining a healthy dietary pattern from early life to adulthood in an attempt to promote cognitive health.
The period from birth to 12 years is crucial in a child's development and can significantly impact future educational success, resilience and participation in society. Health and Wellbeing in Childhood provides readers with a comprehensive introduction to a wide range of topics and issues in health and wellbeing education, including child safety, bullying and social emotional wellbeing, resilience, physical education, communication development and friendships. It explores relevant policies, standards and frameworks, including the Early Years Learning Framework and the Australian Curriculum. The third edition provides a cohesive and accessible reading experience and includes updated and expanded coverage of nutrition, body image and community partnerships. Each chapter has been revised to include the latest research and developments in childhood health and wellbeing, and features definitions of key terms, case studies, pause and reflect activities and end-of-chapter questions. Supplementary materials, including video and audio links, are available on the companion website.
Dietary intake can affect the physical, cognitive, and socioemotional development of young children. Few studies have explored the relationships between dietary intake and the cognitive and socioemotional dimensions of school readiness. This study aimed to investigate the longitudinal associations between children’s dietary intake in early childhood, and cognitive and socioemotional school readiness indicators at age 4–5 years using data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. A total of 4,253 children were included in the analysis. Multiple linear regression models were built to investigate whether dietary intake (measured by questionnaire at parent interview) at age 2–3 years predicted school readiness indicators of socioemotional and behavioral functioning (measured by parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire [SDQ total score and pro-social scale]), verbal (assessed by Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test–Third Edition [PPVT-III]) and nonverbal (assessed by “Who Am I” test [WAI] cognitive skills) at age 4–5 years. Furthermore, using cross-sectional data at age 4–5 years, four multiple linear regression models were built to investigate if dietary intake was correlated with the aforementioned school readiness indicators. All models were adjusted for potential confounders. It was found that every one-point increase in child dietary intake score at age 2–3 years led to a decrease in SDQ total score by 0.19 (95% confidence interval [CI] = [0.10, 0.28], and an increase in SDQ pro-social scale, WAI score and PPVT score by 0.07 (95% CI = [0.03, 0.10]), 0.27 (95% CI = [0.13, 0.41]), and 0.20 (95% CI = [0.09, 0.30]), respectively, at age 4–5 years. Children’s dietary intake was also a correlate of their school readiness at age 4–5 years. These results add to the limited evidence base suggesting that children’s early dietary intake may play an important role in later socioemotional and behavioral development, and the development of cognitive skills, which are critical school readiness indicators.
Background/Aims
There is a consistent body of evidence on the association between single nutrients and cognition, but the role of a healthful dietary pattern on cognition in children has been seldomly studied. This study aims to assess the association between dietary patterns at 4 years (y) and cognitive abilities at 10-13y and examine whether adiposity mediated these associations.
Methods
This study used data from a sub-sample of the population-based birth cohort Generation XXI, with complete information on diet and cognition (n=3575). At 4y, data on dietary intake was collected by a validated food frequency questionnaire and dietary patterns were derived by latent class analysis, namely Energy-dense food (EDF) pattern, Snacking pattern and Healthier pattern (Reference). At 10-13y, the Portuguese Version of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children®-Third Edition was administered by trained psychologists and age-adjusted composite scores were computed: a Full-Scale Intelligence Quotient (IQ), plus a Verbal IQ, Performance IQ and Processing Speed IQ. Age- and sex-specific body mass index (BMI) z-scores, body fat percentage from bioimpedance, and waist-to-weight ratio and waist-to-hip ratio were used as measures of adiposity. Regression coefficients and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were computed using linear regression models (adjusted for maternal age and education, pre-pregnancy BMI, smoking and alcohol intake during pregnancy, child’s sex, birthweight, exclusive breastfeeding duration and having siblings at 4y). Mediation analysis was conducted using path analysis.
Results
After adjustment, children classified in the EDF or a Snacking patterns at 4y were more likely to have lower scores on total IQ (β=-0.116;95%CI:-0.192,-0.039 and β=-0.148;95%CI -0.252,-0.044, respectively), Verbal IQ (β=-0.104;95%CI -0.177,-0.031 and β=-0.16;95%CI -0.262,-0.064, respectively) and Performance IQ (β=-0.116 95%CI -0.193,-0.040 and β=-0.147;95%CI -0.250,-0.042, respectively) at 10-13y, when compared to those classified in the Healthier pattern. None of the adiposity measures seemed to explain the associations between dietary patterns and IQ.
Conclusion
This study supports that early unhealthy dietary patterns were associated with lower child’s cognitive ability, but this effect did not seem to be mediated by adiposity.
Introduction and Objectives of Research Study: World data revealed the facts that twenty-first-century school-going children are more inclined towards the consumption of junk food especially during the COVID 19 pandemic period and this habit of consuming junk food is recognized as a serious health problem around the globe. Thus in this backdrop, the present research framework aims to assess the effectiveness of an ICT based educational intervention program for school going children in Jaipur Metropolitan City, India to reduce junk food consumption habits. Research Methodology: In the present research study data was collected with the help of a simple random sampling technique from n=200, school-going children of study area Jaipur. Primary data collection tool- a self-developed structured questionnaire was used in the present study. Data was collected in a phased manner i.e. Pre-test before intervention study and post-test after the ICT based interactive study. For statistical analysis, a multiple linear regression model and a paired t-test were used to assess the effectiveness of ICT based educational intervention programs in the present research study. Findings and Conclusion: Findings obtained from the present study concluded that among school children of Jaipur the behavioural intention of junk food consumption was different in pretest and posttest [4.98 ± 1.6 and 6.84 ± 1.2]. The present research study concludes that the ICT based intervention program developed by the research scholar has been proved as an effective education program for changing the intentions of school-going children and also prevent them from making the habit of consuming junk food which was found statistically significant at the p-value <0.05. It was also found from the study that, the behavioural intention of junk food consumption, the attitude of school-going children towards junk food consumption, and perceived behavioural control toward junk food were statistically significant as the obtained p-value was <0.05. Implications of the study: In a nutshell, it can be postulated from the present research study that ICT based intervention program has a significant positive influence on the perceived behaviour without a control group of school-going children in the study area Jaipur and the same findings can be used unanimously in other study conditions around the globe.
The parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often try alternative treatments to reduce their children's symptoms, and one of the alternatives is a specialized diet. This diet is called gluten-free casein-free or GFCF diet. The GFCF diet has grown popular over the years. These children may be sensitive to the taste, smell, color, and texture of foods. They may limit or totally avoid some foods and even whole food groups. They may have difficulty focusing on one task for an extended period of time. It may be hard for a child to sit down and eat a meal from start to finish. The chapter highlights the impact of maternal nutrition, nutritional deficiencies, and GFCF diet in ASD.
Importance:
Inequities in social environments are likely associated with a large portion of racial disparities in childhood cognitive performance. Identification of the specific exposures associated with cognitive development is needed to inform prevention efforts.
Objective:
To identify modifiable factors associated with childhood cognitive performance.
Design, setting, and participants:
This longitudinal pregnancy cohort study included 1503 mother-child dyads who were enrolled in the University of Tennessee Health Science Center-Conditions Affecting Neurodevelopment and Learning in Early Life study between December 1, 2006, and July 31, 2011, and assessed annually until the children were aged 4 to 6 years. The analytic sample comprised 1055 mother-child dyads. A total of 155 prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal exposures were included to evaluate environment-wide associations. Participants comprised a community-based sample of pregnant women who were recruited between 16 weeks and 28 weeks of gestation from 4 hospitals in Shelby County, Tennessee. Women with high-risk pregnancies were excluded. Data were analyzed from June 1, 2018, to April 15, 2019.
Exposures:
Individual and neighborhood socioeconomic position, family structure, maternal mental health, nutrition, delivery complications, birth outcomes, and parenting behaviors.
Main outcomes and measures:
Child's full-scale IQ measured by the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, Fifth Edition, at age 4 to 6 years.
Results:
Of 1055 children included in the analytic sample, 532 (50.4%) were female. Among mothers, the mean (SD) age was 26.0 (5.6) years; 676 mothers (64.1%) were Black, and 623 mothers (59.0%) had an educational level of high school or less. Twenty-four factors were retained in the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression analysis and full models adjusted for potential confounding. Associations were noted between child cognitive performance and parental education and breastfeeding; for each increase of 1.0 SD in exposure, positive associations were found with cognitive growth fostering from observed parent-child interactions (β = 1.12; 95% CI, 0.24-2.00) and maternal reading ability (β = 1.42; 95% CI, 0.16-2.68), and negative associations were found with parenting stress (β = -1.04; 95% CI, -1.86 to -0.21). A moderate increase in these beneficial exposures was associated with a notable improvement in estimated cognitive test scores using marginal means (0.5% of an SD). Black children experienced fewer beneficial cognitive performance exposures; in a model including all 24 exposures and covariates, no racial disparity was observed in cognitive performance (95% CIs for race included the null).
Conclusions and relevance:
The prospective analysis identified multiple beneficial and modifiable cognitive performance exposures that were associated with mean differences in cognitive performance by race. The findings from this observational study may help guide experimental studies focused on reducing racial disparities in childhood cognitive performance.
Résumé
L’adoption de politiques et de directives alimentaires dans les écoles canadiennes permet d’accroître l’offre et la consommation d’aliments riches en nutriments tout en réduisant l’accès à des aliments et des boissons riches en sucres, en sodium et en gras saturés. Ces politiques favorisent des changements positifs pour la santé des enfants et des adolescents, tels qu’un meilleur indice de masse corporelle. Cependant, elles ont des effets mitigés sur la performance scolaire. Le présent document de principes présente les principaux éléments des politiques alimentaires en milieu scolaire, notamment les normes nutritionnelles. Ces politiques doivent respecter les recommandations du Guide alimentaire canadien et promouvoir la consommation d’aliments et de boissons riches en nutriments, dont la teneur en gras saturé, en sucre et en sodium est plus faible.
Background:
The global prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity is high. Lifestyle changes towards a healthy diet, increased physical activity and reduced sedentary activities are recommended to prevent and treat obesity. Evidence suggests that changing these health behaviours can benefit cognitive function and school achievement in children and adolescents in general. There are various theoretical mechanisms that suggest that children and adolescents with excessive body fat may benefit particularly from these interventions.
Objectives:
To assess whether lifestyle interventions (in the areas of diet, physical activity, sedentary behaviour and behavioural therapy) improve school achievement, cognitive function (e.g. executive functions) and/or future success in children and adolescents with obesity or overweight, compared with standard care, waiting-list control, no treatment, or an attention placebo control group.
Search methods:
In February 2017, we searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE and 15 other databases. We also searched two trials registries, reference lists, and handsearched one journal from inception. We also contacted researchers in the field to obtain unpublished data.
Selection criteria:
We included randomised and quasi-randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of behavioural interventions for weight management in children and adolescents with obesity or overweight. We excluded studies in children and adolescents with medical conditions known to affect weight status, school achievement and cognitive function. We also excluded self- and parent-reported outcomes.
Data collection and analysis:
Four review authors independently selected studies for inclusion. Two review authors extracted data, assessed quality and risks of bias, and evaluated the quality of the evidence using the GRADE approach. We contacted study authors to obtain additional information. We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. Where the same outcome was assessed across different intervention types, we reported standardised effect sizes for findings from single-study and multiple-study analyses to allow comparison of intervention effects across intervention types. To ease interpretation of the effect size, we also reported the mean difference of effect sizes for single-study outcomes.
Main results:
We included 18 studies (59 records) of 2384 children and adolescents with obesity or overweight. Eight studies delivered physical activity interventions, seven studies combined physical activity programmes with healthy lifestyle education, and three studies delivered dietary interventions. We included five RCTs and 13 cluster-RCTs. The studies took place in 10 different countries. Two were carried out in children attending preschool, 11 were conducted in primary/elementary school-aged children, four studies were aimed at adolescents attending secondary/high school and one study included primary/elementary and secondary/high school-aged children. The number of studies included for each outcome was low, with up to only three studies per outcome. The quality of evidence ranged from high to very low and 17 studies had a high risk of bias for at least one item. None of the studies reported data on additional educational support needs and adverse events.Compared to standard practice, analyses of physical activity-only interventions suggested high-quality evidence for improved mean cognitive executive function scores. The mean difference (MD) was 5.00 scale points higher in an after-school exercise group compared to standard practice (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.68 to 9.32; scale mean 100, standard deviation 15; 116 children, 1 study). There was no statistically significant beneficial effect in favour of the intervention for mathematics, reading, or inhibition control. The standardised mean difference (SMD) for mathematics was 0.49 (95% CI -0.04 to 1.01; 2 studies, 255 children, moderate-quality evidence) and for reading was 0.10 (95% CI -0.30 to 0.49; 2 studies, 308 children, moderate-quality evidence). The MD for inhibition control was -1.55 scale points (95% CI -5.85 to 2.75; scale range 0 to 100; SMD -0.15, 95% CI -0.58 to 0.28; 1 study, 84 children, very low-quality evidence). No data were available for average achievement across subjects taught at school.There was no evidence of a beneficial effect of physical activity interventions combined with healthy lifestyle education on average achievement across subjects taught at school, mathematics achievement, reading achievement or inhibition control. The MD for average achievement across subjects taught at school was 6.37 points lower in the intervention group compared to standard practice (95% CI -36.83 to 24.09; scale mean 500, scale SD 70; SMD -0.18, 95% CI -0.93 to 0.58; 1 study, 31 children, low-quality evidence). The effect estimate for mathematics achievement was SMD 0.02 (95% CI -0.19 to 0.22; 3 studies, 384 children, very low-quality evidence), for reading achievement SMD 0.00 (95% CI -0.24 to 0.24; 2 studies, 284 children, low-quality evidence), and for inhibition control SMD -0.67 (95% CI -1.50 to 0.16; 2 studies, 110 children, very low-quality evidence). No data were available for the effect of combined physical activity and healthy lifestyle education on cognitive executive functions.There was a moderate difference in the average achievement across subjects taught at school favouring interventions targeting the improvement of the school food environment compared to standard practice in adolescents with obesity (SMD 0.46, 95% CI 0.25 to 0.66; 2 studies, 382 adolescents, low-quality evidence), but not with overweight. Replacing packed school lunch with a nutrient-rich diet in addition to nutrition education did not improve mathematics (MD -2.18, 95% CI -5.83 to 1.47; scale range 0 to 69; SMD -0.26, 95% CI -0.72 to 0.20; 1 study, 76 children, low-quality evidence) and reading achievement (MD 1.17, 95% CI -4.40 to 6.73; scale range 0 to 108; SMD 0.13, 95% CI -0.35 to 0.61; 1 study, 67 children, low-quality evidence).
Authors' conclusions:
Despite the large number of childhood and adolescent obesity treatment trials, we were only able to partially assess the impact of obesity treatment interventions on school achievement and cognitive abilities. School and community-based physical activity interventions as part of an obesity prevention or treatment programme can benefit executive functions of children with obesity or overweight specifically. Similarly, school-based dietary interventions may benefit general school achievement in children with obesity. These findings might assist health and education practitioners to make decisions related to promoting physical activity and healthy eating in schools. Future obesity treatment and prevention studies in clinical, school and community settings should consider assessing academic and cognitive as well as physical outcomes.
Children (227), aged 7–12 years, weighed and recorded all food and drink consumed for seven consecutive days. Each child completed tests of verbal and non-verbal intelligence, and was then randomly allocated to one of two groups after matching for age, sex, IQ and height. In a double-blind trial lasting for 28 d, one group received a vitamin-mineral supplement daily and the other group a placebo. On re-testing, there were no significant differences in performance between the two groups. Furthermore, there were no consistent correlations between test scores and micronutrient intakes based on the weighed records. Thus, we found no evidence that learning ability in a cross-section of British schoolchildren was limited by the quality of their diets.
We examined the effects of omitting breakfast on the cognitive functions of three groups of children: stunted, nonstunted controls, and previously severely malnourished. They were admitted to a metabolic ward twice. After an overnight fast half the children received breakfast on their first visit and a cup of tea the second time. The treatment order was reversed for the other half. When breakfast was omitted, both the stunted and previously malnourished groups responded similarly. The malnourished groups had lower scores in fluency and coding whereas the control group had higher scores in arithmetic. The children were divided into wasted and nonwasted groups. Wasted children were adversely affected in the digit span backwards tests, and wasted members of the malnourished groups were adversely affected in efficiency of problem solving and those in the control group in digit span forwards. These results indicate that cognitive functions are more vulnerable to missing breakfast in poorly nourished children.
In order to examine the effect of energy intake at breakfast on school performance the same morning, the parents of ten parallel school classes of 10-year-old school children at five different schools were persuaded to alter their child's breakfast regimen at home over a period of 4 successive days. A total of 195 families were provided with standard breakfasts with either low or high energy content. Uneaten food was returned and weighed. Individual children were randomly assigned to breakfast alternative on any given day. The teachers who carried out the performance assessments at school were blind to treatment condition. Voluntary physical endurance and the performance of a creativity test were significantly better after a breakfast from which children derived over 20% of their recommended daily energy intake than after a breakfast from which they obtained less than 10% of recommended values. The error rate in an addition task was negatively correlated and the rate of working in a number checking task was positively correlated with individual energy intake from the low-energy breakfast. Significantly fewer children reported feeling bad and self-estimates of hunger sensation were lower during the morning at school after the high energy breakfast. Estimates of energy intake at breakfast based on 24-h dietary recall interviews with the children carried out by telephone at their homes showed good correlation with estimates based on returned food (r = 0.89). Energy intake at breakfast as estimated from returned food had no significant effect on energy intake at school lunch as estimated by dietary recall.
Two independent groups suspected that poor diets in school children might impair intelligence. Because dietary changes produce psychological effects, both groups conducted randomized trials in which children were challenged with placebo or vitamin-mineral tablets. Both reported significantly greater gains in intelligence among the actives. The findings were important because of the apparent inadequacy of diet they revealed, and the magnitude of the potential for increased intelligence. However, 5 of 11 replications were not significant, leaving the issue in doubt.
To determine if school children who receive low-dose vitamin-mineral tablets produce significantly higher IQ scores than children who receive placebo.
A macrolevel analysis of the 13 known randomized, double-blind trials was undertaken.
A total of 15 public schools in Arizona, California, Missouri, Oklahoma, Belgium, England, Scotland, and Wales participated, with 1477 school children, aged 6 to 17 years, and 276 young adult males, aged 18 to 25 years, in 2 American correctional facilities.
All studies used 1 of 3 standardized tests of nonverbal intelligence: the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, or the Calvert Non-verbal test.
The activities in each study performed better, on average, than placebo in nonverbal IQ, regardless of formula, location, age, race, gender, or research team composition. The probability of 13 randomly selected experimental groups always performing better than 13 randomly selected independent control groups is one-half to the 13th power (p = 0.000122). The mean difference across all studies is 3.2 IQ points. Furthermore, the standard deviation in the variable "IQ change" was also consistently larger in each active group when compared to its controls. This confirms that a few children in each study, presumably the poorly nourished minority, were producing large differences, rather than a 3.2 point gain in all active children.
There are important health risks when school children's dietary habits depart substantially from government guidelines; poor dietary habits may lead to impaired intelligence. Low-dose vitamin-mineral supplementation may restore the cognitive abilities of these children by raising low blood nutrient concentrations. However, there is also evidence that supplementation has no measurable effect on the intelligence of well-nourished children with normal blood nutrient concentrations.
Although the results of many clinical studies suggest that breast-fed children score higher on tests of cognitive function than do formula-fed children, some investigators have suggested that these differences are related to confounding covariables such as socioeconomic status or maternal education.
Our objective was to conduct a meta-analysis of observed differences in cognitive development between breast-fed and formula-fed children.
In this meta-analysis we defined the effect estimate as the mean difference in cognitive function between breast-fed and formula-fed groups and calculated average effects using fixed-effects and random-effects models.
Of 20 studies meeting initial inclusion criteria, 11 studies controlled for >/=5 covariates and presented unadjusted and adjusted results. An unadjusted benefit of 5.32 (95% CI: 4.51, 6.14) points in cognitive function was observed for breast-fed compared with formula-fed children. After adjustment for covariates, the increment in cognitive function was 3.16 (95% CI: 2.35, 3.98) points. This adjusted difference was significant and homogeneous. Significantly higher levels of cognitive function were seen in breast-fed than in formula-fed children at 6-23 mo of age and these differences were stable across successive ages. Low-birth-weight infants showed larger differences (5.18 points; 95% CI: 3.59, 6.77) than did normal-birth-weight infants (2.66 points; 95% CI: 2.15, 3.17) suggesting that premature infants derive more benefits in cognitive development from breast milk than do full-term infants. Finally, the cognitive developmental benefits of breast-feeding increased with duration.
This meta-analysis indicated that, after adjustment for appropriate key cofactors, breast-feeding was associated with significantly higher scores for cognitive development than was formula feeding.
There is evidence that IQ tends to be higher in those who were heavier at birth or who grew taller in childhood and adolescence. Although these findings imply that growth in both foetal and postnatal life influences cognitive performance, little is known about the relative importance of brain growth during different periods of development. We investigated the relationship between brain growth in different periods of pre- and postnatal life and cognitive function in 221 9-year-old children whose mothers had taken part in a study of nutrition in pregnancy and whose head circumference had been measured at 18 weeks gestation, birth and 9 months of age. Cognitive function of the children and their mothers was assessed with the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence. Full-scale IQ at age 9 years rose by 1.98 points [95% confidence interval (CI) 0.34 to 3.62] for each SD increase in head circumference at 9 months and by 2.87 points (95% CI 1.05 to 4.69) for each SD increase in head circumference at 9 years of age, after adjustment for sex, number of older siblings, maternal IQ, age, education, social class, duration of breastfeeding and history of low mood in the post-partum period. Postnatal head growth was significantly greater in children whose mothers were educated to degree level or of higher socio-economic status. There was no relation between IQ and measurements of head size at 18 weeks gestation or at birth. These results suggest that brain growth during infancy and early childhood is more important than growth during foetal life in determining cognitive function.
Large epidemiological studies of almost an entire population in Scotland have found that intelligence (as measured by an IQ-type test) in childhood predicts substantial differences in adult morbidity and mortality, including deaths from cancers and cardiovascular diseases. These relations remain significant after controlling for socioeconomic variables. One possible, partial explanation of these results is that intelligence enhances individuals' care of their own health because it represents learning, reasoning, and problem-solving skills useful in preventing chronic disease and accidental injury and in adhering to complex treatment regimens.
Study objective: The study of the whole diet in combination rather than the consumption of individual food items or the intake of specific nutrients could be enlightening. This has been previously performed using principal components analysis (PCA) on adult diets but not on those of children.Design: The frequency of consumption of a range of food items was recorded for 10, 139 3-y-old children by their mothers using self-completion postal questionnaires. These children form part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC).Methods: PCA was performed to identify individual dietary types which were then related to various socio-economic and demographic characteristics.Results: Four distinct dietary components were obtained explaining 23.5% of the total variation in the sample, and the socio-demographic characteristics of the sample were related to them. The first represented a diet based on convenience foods and was associated with younger, less educated mothers and the presence of older siblings. The second was associated with a high consumption of foods currently considered to be healthy and was particularly related to vegetarian mothers and higher education levels. The third component described the established British ‘meat and two veg’ diet and was associated with girls and children with no older siblings, while the fourth had high loadings for snack and finger foods and was related to socially advantaged conditions and the presence of older siblings.Conclusions: Identifiable groups of mothers were associated with feeding their child each of the four dietary types, supporting the hypothesis that social, demographic and lifestyle factors relating to the mother have an influence on the early eating patterns of children. This analysis will form a basis for the future study of various childhood outcomes including growth, health and development.Sponsorship: University of BristolEuropean Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 73–80
Objective: To describe the diet of a population of pregnant women.Subjects: Eleven thousand, nine hundred and twenty-three pregnant women resident in the south-west of England.Design: A self-completion unquantified food-frequency questionnaire was sent to the women at 32 weeks gestation. Estimated daily nutrient intakes were calculated from the answers to the questionnaire.Results: On the whole, nutrient intakes of the pregnant women in this survey compared very closely with the reported nutrient intakes for all women aged 16–64 in the last Dietary and Nutritional Survey of British Adults (DNSBA). The exceptions were sugar, calcium, folate and vitamin C where the estimated intakes were somewhat higher, and retinol, where the estimated intake was somewhat lower than the DNSBA. Mean and median estimated nutrient intakes were above the RNIs for the majority of nutrients investigated except for energy, iron, magnesium, potassium and folate. Levels of supplementary vitamin and mineral use were fairly low, the two most commonly taken supplements were iron—taken by 22.5% of the pregnant women before 18 weeks and 43% at 32 weeks, and folate, taken by 9% and 18% of the women, respectively.Conclusions: These results suggest that the diets of pregnant women in this country are likely to contain adequate amounts of most nutrients, the most likely exceptions being iron, magnesium, potassium and folate. The relatively low intakes of folate and small proportion of women taking folate supplements is of concern, because of the association between inadequate amounts of folate in the diet and neural tube defects.Sponsorship: The nutritional aspects of the study have been supported by Northern and Yorkshire region—NHS executive, Cow and Gate Ltd, the Meat & Livestock Commission and Coca-Cola UK.
In order to examine the effect of energy intake at breakfast on school performance the same morning, the parents of ten parallel school classes of 10-year-old school children at five different schools were persuaded to alter their child's breakfast regimen at home over a period of 4 successive days, A total of 195 families were provided with standard breakfasts with either low or high energy content. Uneaten food was returned and weighed. Individual children were randomly assigned to breakfast alternative on any given day. The teachers who carried out the performance assessments at school were blind to treatment condition. Voluntary physical endurance and the performance of a creativity test were significantly better after a breakfast from which children derived over 20% of their recommended daily energy intake than after a breakfast from which they obtained less than 10% of recommended values. The error rate in an addition task was negatively correlated and the rate of working in a number checking task was positively correlated with individual energy intake from the low-energy breakfast. Significantly fewer children reported feeling bad and self-estimates of hunger sensation were lower during the morning at school after the high energy breakfast. Estimates of energy intake at breakfast based on 24-h dietary recall interviews with the children carried out by telephone at their homes showed good correlation with estimates based on returned food (r = 0.89). Energy intake at breakfast as estimated from returned food had no significant effect on energy intake at school lunch as estimated by dietary recall.
The association between intelligence and diet at 3.5 and 7 years was examined in 591 children of European descent. Approximately half of the children were born small-for-gestational age (birth weight ≤ 10th percentile). The relationship between IQ and diet (measured by food frequency) was investigated using multiple regression analyses. Eating margarine at least daily was associated with significantly lower IQ scores at 3.5 years in the total sample and at 7 years in SGA children. For all children, eating the recommended daily number of breads and cereals was associated with significantly higher IQ scores at 3.5 years, and those who ate fish at least weekly had significantly higher IQ scores at 7 years than those who did not. The consumption of fish, breads and cereals commeasurable with nutritional guidelines may be beneficial to children's cognitive development. In contrast, consuming margarine daily was associated with poorer cognitive functioning. Further research is needed to identify the nutrients that may underlie this association.
Trials in developing countries suggest that improving young children's diet may benefit cognitive development. Whether dietary composition influences young children's cognition in developed countries is unclear. Although many studies have examined the relation between type of milk received in infancy and subsequent cognition, there has been no investigation of the possible effect of variations in the weaning diet.
We studied 241 children aged 4 years, whose diet had been assessed at age 6 and 12 months. We measured IQ with the Wechsler Pre-School and Primary Scale of Intelligence, visual attention, visuomotor precision, sentence repetition and verbal fluency with the Developmental Neuropsychological Assessment (NEPSY), and visual form-constancy with the Test of Visual Perceptual Skills.
In sex-adjusted analyses, children whose diet in infancy was characterised by high consumption of fruit, vegetables and home-prepared foods ('infant guidelines' dietary pattern) had higher full-scale and verbal IQ and better memory performance at age 4 years. Further adjustment for maternal education, intelligence, social class, quality of the home environment and other potential confounding factors attenuated these associations but the relations between higher 'infant guidelines' diet score and full-scale and verbal IQ remained significant. For a standard deviation increase in 'infant guidelines' diet score at 6 or 12 months full-scale IQ rose by .18 (95% CI .04 to .31) of a standard deviation. For a standard deviation increase in 'infant guidelines' diet score at 6 months verbal IQ rose by .14 (.01 to .27) of a standard deviation. There were no associations between dietary patterns in infancy and 4-year performance on the other tests.
These findings suggest that dietary patterns in early life may have some effect on cognitive development. It is also possible that they reflect the influence of unmeasured confounding factors.
Information pertaining to a revision of the Caldwell HOME Inventory for use with families of children ages 3 to 6 was presented. Factor and item analyses were used as a basis for reducing the number of items from 80 to 55. The items were clustered into eight subscales. Kuder-Richardson 20 coefficients for the scale ranged from .53 to .93. Concurrent and predictive validity studies indicated that the HOME scales significantly correlated with IQ (as high as r = .58). Low to moderate correlations were obtained between HOME scores and SES measures, with significant correlations ranging from .30 to .65.
90 schoolchildren aged twelve and thirteen years kept a dietary diary for three days. In most cases the average intake of vitamins was close to the recommended daily allowance, although for a minority the intake was low; with minerals the recommended daily allowance was less commonly achieved. To examine the possibility that deficiency of dietary minerals and vitamins was preventing optimum psychological function, a multivitamin/mineral supplement or a placebo was administered double-blind for eight months to 60 of the children. The supplement group, but not the placebo group or the remaining 30 who took no tablets, showed a significant increase in non-verbal intelligence.
A key concern in nutritional epidemiology is the complex nature of the exposure assessed by means of dietary questionnaires. Unlike other exposures, diet is so complex that special knowledge is required to en- sure that the correct exposure measure is used. A clear definition of the food or nutrient of interest and knowl- edge of how it may affect the disease or outcome of interest is imperative. Food consists of nutrients as well as other sub- stances, such as additives, naturally occurring com- pounds, and unknown components, that may affect disease risk. Therefore, it is often not adequate to represent food intake by nutrient intake. The approach of Slattery et al. (1) is innovative: Using data from a detailed diet history questionnaire administered to par- ticipants in a large case-control study, the authors employed exploratory factor analysis to typify food patterns that might be associated with colon cancer risk. They then evaluated the factors they identified as risk predictors in conventional logistic regression analysis. Factor analysis is one of the most widely used quantitative techniques in the social sciences. It was developed primarily for psychometric measurement; its origins and early development were largely in the field of abilities testing. Factor analysis has been em- ployed virtually since its inception for two somewhat distinct purposes: data reduction and theory building (2, 3). It does this by characterizin g the covariance among many variables in terms of a few underlying but unobservable quantities called "factors." The fac- tor model is driven by the idea that correlated variables can be grouped or aggregated—i.e., that all correlated variables belong together, and they should be recog- nized as distinct from groups of variables with which they are not correlated. Factor analysis has great intu- itive appeal in nutritional epidemiology: It offers a means of factoring intakes of a variety of foods as
The study of the whole diet in combination rather than the consumption of individual food items or the intake of specific nutrients could be enlightening. This has been previously performed using principal components analysis (PCA) on adult diets but not on those of children.
The frequency of consumption of a range of food items was recorded for 10,139 3-y-old children by their mothers using self-completion postal questionnaires. These children form part of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC).
PCA was performed to identify individual dietary types which were then related to various socio-economic and demographic characteristics.
Four distinct dietary components were obtained explaining 23.5% of the total variation in the sample, and the socio-demographic characteristics of the sample were related to them. The first represented a diet based on convenience foods and was associated with younger, less educated mothers and the presence of older siblings. The second was associated with a high consumption of foods currently considered to be healthy and was particularly related to vegetarian mothers and higher education levels. The third component described the established British 'meat and two veg' diet and was associated with girls and children with no older siblings, while the fourth had high loadings for snack and finger foods and was related to socially advantaged conditions and the presence of older siblings.
Identifiable groups of mothers were associated with feeding their child each of the four dietary types, supporting the hypothesis that social, demographic and lifestyle factors relating to the mother have an influence on the early eating patterns of children. This analysis will form a basis for the future study of various childhood outcomes including growth, health and development.
University of Bristol European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2000) 54, 73-80
The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and severity of feeding and nutritional problems in children with neurological impairment within a defined geographical area. In a cross-sectional study, a validated questionnaire was sent to 377 parents of children (aged 4 to 13 years) on the Oxford Register of Early Childhood Impairments with oromotor dysfunction. The return rate was 72%. Of these, 93% had cerebral palsy; 47% were unable to walk; 78% had speech difficulty; and 28% continuous drooling of saliva. Gastrointestinal problems were commonly encountered: 59% were constipated; 22% had significant problems with vomiting, and 31% had suffered at least one chest infection in the previous 6 months. Feeding problems were prevalent: 89% needed help with feeding and 56% choked with food; 20% of parents described feeding as stressful and unenjoyable. Prolonged feeding times (3h/day) were reported by 28%. Only 8% of participants received caloric supplements and 8% were fed via gastrostomy tube. Even though 38% of respondents considered their child to be underweight, 64% of children had never had their feeding and nutrition assessed. The results highlight that feeding problems in children with neurological impairment are common and severe, causing parental concern. Many of these children would benefit from nutritional assessment and management as part of their overall care.
ALSPAC (The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, formerly the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood) was specifically designed to determine ways in which the individual's genotype combines with environmental pressures to influence health and development. To date, there are comprehensive data on approximately 10,000 children and their parents, from early pregnancy until the children are aged between 8 and 9. The study aims to continue to collect detailed data on the children as they go through puberty noting, in particular, changes in anthropometry, attitudes and behaviour, fitness and other cardiovascular risk factors, bone mineralisation, allergic symptoms and mental health. The study started early during pregnancy and collected very detailed data from the mother and her partner before the child was born. This not only provided accurate data on concurrent features, especially medication, symptoms, diet and lifestyle, attitudes and behaviour, social and environmental features, but was unbiased by parental knowledge of any problems that the child might develop. From the time of the child's birth many different aspects of the child's environment have been monitored and a wide range of phenotypic data collected. By virtue of being based in one geographic area, linkage to medical and educational records is relatively simple, and hands-on assessments of children and parents using local facilities has the advantage of high quality control. The comprehensiveness of the ALSPAC approach with a total population sample unselected by disease status, and the availability of parental genotypes, provides an adequate sample for statistical analysis and for avoiding spurious results. The study has an open policy in regard to collaboration within strict confidentiality rules.
This review focuses on the maturation of brain white-matter, as revealed by magnetic resonance (MR) imaging carried out in healthy subjects. The review begins with a brief description of the nature of the MR signal and its possible biological underpinnings, and proceeds with a description of MR findings obtained in newborns, infants, children and adolescents. On MR images, a significant decrease in water content leads to a decrease of longitudinal relaxation times (T1) and transverse relaxation times (T2) and consequent "adult-like" appearance of T1-weighted and T2-weighted images becomes evident towards the end of the first year of life. Owing to the onset of myelination and the related increase of lipid content, MR images gradually acquire an exquisite grey-white matter contrast in a temporal sequence reflecting the time course of myelination. Albeit less pronounced, age-related changes in white matter continue during childhood and adolescence; white matter increases its overall volume and becomes more myelinated in a region-specific fashion. Detection of more subtle changes during this "late" phase of brain development is greatly aided by computational analyses of MR images. The review also briefly outlines future directions, including the use of novel MR techniques such as diffusion tensor imaging and magnetization transfer, as well as the suggestion for the concurrent use of experimental behavioral test-batteries, with structural MR imaging, to study developmental changes in structure-function relationships.
A growing number of double-blind placebo-controlled studies have considered the influence of micro-nutrient supplementation on the intelligence of children. Earlier studies prevented the drawing of conclusions as they did not systematically approach the topic. However, over the last 10 years, a series of studies have compared the impact of supplementation on either verbal or non-verbal measures of intelligence. In 10 out of 13 studies a positive response has been reported, always with non-verbal measures, in at least a sub-section of the experimental sample. A selective response to non-verbal tests was predicted as they reflect basic biologically functioning that could be expected to be influenced by diet. The evidence is that not all children respond to supplementation, rather there is a minority who benefit, whose diet offers low amounts of micro-nutrients. Such observations are consistent with dietary surveys that typically report a sub-set of children with a low intake. The topic is at a very early stage and needs the clarification gained from a series of large-scale studies that consider children of a wide range of ages, dietary styles and social backgrounds.
This article describes an example of making pediatric neuropsychological assessments more time-efficient. Empirical support, including new data, for the utilization of an eight-subtest short form of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC-III; Wechsler, 1991) is reviewed. It is concluded that this short form of the WISC-III is a valid substitute for the complete version under most clinical circumstances, allowing the practitioner to expand on interview, history or more specific neuropsychological tests without adding financial or time burdens to the evaluation.
Diet can affect cognitive ability and behaviour in children and adolescents. Nutrient composition and meal pattern can exert immediate or long-term, beneficial or adverse effects. Beneficial effects mainly result from the correction of poor nutritional status. For example, thiamin treatment reverses aggressiveness in thiamin-deficient adolescents. Deleterious behavioural effects have been suggested; for example, sucrose and additives were once suspected to induce hyperactivity, but these effects have not been confirmed by rigorous investigations. In spite of potent biological mechanisms that protect brain activity from disruption, some cognitive functions appear sensitive to short-term variations of fuel (glucose) availability in certain brain areas. A glucose load, for example, acutely facilitates mental performance, particularly on demanding, long-duration tasks. The mechanism of this often described effect is not entirely clear. One aspect of diet that has elicited much research in young people is the intake/omission of breakfast. This has obvious relevance to school performance. While effects are inconsistent in well-nourished children, breakfast omission deteriorates mental performance in malnourished children. Even intelligence scores can be improved by micronutrient supplementation in children and adolescents with very poor dietary status. Overall, the literature suggests that good regular dietary habits are the best way to ensure optimal mental and behavioural performance at all times. Then, it remains controversial whether additional benefit can be gained from acute dietary manipulations. In contrast, children and adolescents with poor nutritional status are exposed to alterations of mental and/or behavioural functions that can be corrected, to a certain extent, by dietary measures.
We evaluated the predictive accuracy of short forms of the Wechsler intelligence scales for individuals with high functioning autism. Several short forms were derived from participants who had received the full procedure. Stepwise multiple regression analyses were performed to determine the strength of association between the subtests included in the short form and IQ scores based upon the full test. These analyses were performed for all participants, and also for autism participants with atypical subtest profiles. In all analyses the percentages of explained variance were typically in the .8-.9 range. It was concluded that short forms may be used with good predictive accuracy in individuals with high functioning autism, even when the subtest profile is atypical.
We have previously reported on distinct dietary patterns obtained from principal components analysis (PCA) of food frequency questionnaires from 3-y-old children. In this study, we repeat these analyses at 4 and 7 y of age.
As part of regular self-completion questionnaires, the primary source of data collection in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, parents were asked to record the frequency of consumption of 57 different food types for their children. A total of 9550 subjects (68% of original cohort) were available from the 4-y data sweep and 8286 (59%) from the 7-y.
Distinct dietary patterns were identified at each age using PCA. These were then related to social and demographic characteristics of the parent and child.
Three dietary patterns were established cross-sectionally at both 4 and 7 y of age to best describe the types of diet being consumed. One component at both time points described a diet based on 'junk'-type foods with high-fat and sugar content, processed and convenience foods. A second described the 'traditional' British diet based on meat, potatoes and vegetables. The final, a 'health-conscious' pattern was associated with vegetarian style foods, rice, pasta, salad and fruit. At both time points, the 'junk' pattern was significantly more likely in white children, where maternal education level was low and where the child had more siblings. The 'traditional' pattern was more likely in girls, where the mother had a partner and in nonvegetarians (both mother and child). The 'health-conscious' pattern was more likely with increasing levels of education and increasing maternal age.
We have demonstrated consistent dietary patterns in cross-sectional analyses at two ages in these children with similar socio-demographic associations evident at each age. Future analyses will track these dietary patterns over time and form a basis for the study of a variety of childhood outcomes.
Using cross-sectional data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Survey, 1988-1994, we examined whether dietary fat intake is associated with cognitive and psychosocial functioning in school-aged children. Based upon 24-h diet recall interviews, dietary intakes of total fat, SFA, monounsaturated fatty, PUFAs, and cholesterol were estimated in 3666 participants aged 6 to 16 y. Psychosocial functioning was evaluated in interviews of each child's mother. Cognitive functioning was measured using achievement and intelligence tests. Overall, total fat and saturated fat were unrelated to measures of cognitive and psychosocial functioning. Compared with equivalent energy intake from saturated fat or carbohydrate, each 5% increase in energy intake from PUFAs was associated with lower risks of poor performance on the digit span test (replacing SFA, OR = 0.58, 95% CI = 0.37-0.91; replacing carbohydrate, OR = 0.61, 95% CI = 0.43-0.88). Cholesterol intake was associated with an increased risk of poor performance on the digit span test (OR = 1.25, 95% CI = 1.11-1.42 for each 100-mg increment intake of cholesterol). The associations were independent of socioeconomic status, maternal education and marital status, and children's nutrition status and were consistent across different methods of energy adjustment in regression models. We conclude that high intake of PUFAs may contribute to an improved performance on the digit span test. In contrast, increased intake of cholesterol may be associated with a poorer performance.
We investigated the effects of head growth prenatally, during infancy, and during later periods of development on cognitive function at the ages of 4 and 8 years.
We studied 633 term-born children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort whose head circumference was measured at birth and at regular intervals thereafter. Their cognitive function was assessed with the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence at the age of 4 years and with the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children at the age of 8 years. Linear regression analysis was used to calculate postnatal head growth between successive time points, conditional on previous size, and to examine the relationship between head growth during different periods of development and later IQ.
When the influence of head growth was distinguished for different periods, only prenatal growth and growth during infancy were associated with subsequent IQ. At 4 years, after adjustment for parental characteristics, full-scale IQ increased an average of 2.41 points for each 1-SD increase in head circumference at birth and 1.97 points for each 1-SD increase in head growth during infancy, conditional on head size at birth. At 8 years, head circumference at birth was no longer associated with IQ, but head growth during infancy remained a significant predictor, with full-scale IQ increasing an average of 1.56 points for each 1-SD increase in growth.
The brain volume a child achieves by the age of 1 year helps determine later intelligence. Growth in brain volume after infancy may not compensate for poorer earlier growth.
Seafood is the predominant source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are essential for optimum neural development. However, in the USA, women are advised to limit their seafood intake during pregnancy to 340 g per week. We used the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) to assess the possible benefits and hazards to a child's development of different levels of maternal seafood intake during pregnancy.
11,875 pregnant women completed a food frequency questionnaire assessing seafood consumption at 32 weeks' gestation. Multivariable logistic regression models including 28 potential confounders assessing social disadvantage, perinatal, and dietary items were used to compare developmental, behavioural, and cognitive outcomes of the children from age 6 months to 8 years in women consuming none, some (1-340 g per week), and >340 g per week.
After adjustment, maternal seafood intake during pregnancy of less than 340 g per week was associated with increased risk of their children being in the lowest quartile for verbal intelligence quotient (IQ) (no seafood consumption, odds ratio [OR] 1.48, 95% CI 1.16-1.90; some, 1.09, 0.92-1.29; overall trend, p=0.004), compared with mothers who consumed more than 340 g per week. Low maternal seafood intake was also associated with increased risk of suboptimum outcomes for prosocial behaviour, fine motor, communication, and social development scores. For each outcome measure, the lower the intake of seafood during pregnancy, the higher the risk of suboptimum developmental outcome.
Maternal seafood consumption of less than 340 g per week in pregnancy did not protect children from adverse outcomes; rather, we recorded beneficial effects on child development with maternal seafood intakes of more than 340 g per week, suggesting that advice to limit seafood consumption could actually be detrimental. These results show that risks from the loss of nutrients were greater than the risks of harm from exposure to trace contaminants in 340 g seafood eaten weekly.
The objective of this study was to examine differences in intellectual capacities between children with and without soiling, daytime wetting, and bed-wetting.
This study was based on a population of >6000 children (age range: 7 years 6 months to 9 years 3 months; median: 7 years 6 months) from the United Kingdom-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children. Data on wetting and soiling were obtained from a questionnaire completed by parents. The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition was administered at a research clinic.
Bed-wetting was associated with lower Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition IQ scores compared with control subjects, particularly performance IQ. This difference remained after exclusion of children with an IQ of <70 and adjustment for gender, stressful life events, and sociodemographic background. There were fewer differences in IQ scores between children with and without soiling or daytime wetting. Co-occurring wetting and soiling were associated with lower IQ scores than isolated soiling, daytime wetting, or bed-wetting, but this was mostly attributable to an overrepresentation of children with an IQ of <70 in the co-occurrence group.
It is hypothesized that the differences in intellectual capacities between children with and without bed-wetting are associated with maturational deficits of the central nervous system. There was less evidence for differences in intellectual capacities between children with and without soiling and daytime wetting. The central nervous system is involved to a lesser extent in soiling and daytime wetting, because peripheral influences from the bladder and gut play a greater role.
Despite the recent popularity in the use of dietary patterns to investigate diet-disease associations, the associations between dietary patterns and nutrient intakes have not been fully explored. This paper determines the linear and non-linear associations between estimated nutrient intake (considered as both absolute and relative intake) and distinct dietary patterns, obtained during the third trimester of pregnancy using principal components analysis (PCA). It also examines the proportion of variability explained by the patterns in food and nutrient intakes. Pregnant women were asked to record the frequency of consumption of a variety of food items as part of regular self-completion questionnaires, the primary source of data collection in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, 12 035 cases were available. Individual dietary components were identified using PCA and scores on these components were related to estimated nutrient intakes. Five individual dietary patterns were established to best describe the types of diet being consumed in pregnancy. Scores on the 'processed' and 'confectionery' patterns were negatively related to the estimated intake of most nutrients with the exception of energy, fats and sugars, which increased with higher scores. Scores on the 'health-conscious' and 'traditional' components showed positive linear relationships with all nutrients. The results presented here suggest that dietary patterns adequately characterize dietary intake. There is, therefore, potential for dietary patterns to be used as a valid tool in assessing the relationship between diet and health outcomes, and dietary pattern scores could be used as covariates in specific nutrient-disease studies.
To determine whether a 'junk food' diet at age 4(1/2) is associated with behavioural problems at age 7.
Data on approximately 4000 children participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a birth cohort recruited in Avon, UK in 1991/92 were used. Behavioural problems were measured at age 7 using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; maternal completion). Total difficulties and scores for the five sub-scales (hyperactivity, conduct and peer problems, emotional symptoms and pro-social behaviour) were calculated. Principal components analysis of dietary data (frequency of consumption of 57 foods/drinks) collected at age 4(1/2) by maternal report was used to generate a 'junk food' factor. Data on confounders were available from questionnaires.
A one standard deviation increase in 'junk food' intake at age 4(1/2) years was associated with increased hyperactivity at age 7 (odds ratio: 1.19; 95% confidence interval: 1.10, 1.29). This persisted after adjustment for confounders including intelligence quotient score (odds ratio: 1.13; 95% confidence interval: 1.01, 1.15). There was little evidence to support an association between 'junk food' intake and overall behavioural difficulties or other sub-scales of the SDQ.
Children eating a diet high in 'junk food' in early childhood were more likely to be in the top 33% on the SDQ hyperactivity sub-scale at age 7. This may reflect a long-term nutritional imbalance, or differences in parenting style. This finding requires replication before it can provide an avenue for intervention.
This study assesses the stability of dietary patterns obtained using principal components analysis (PCA) through early to mid-childhood. Dietary data were collected from children in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy and Childhood (ALSPAC). Frequency of consumption of a range of food items was recorded by mothers using self-completion postal questionnaires when their children were 3, 4, 7 and 9 years of age. Dietary patterns were identified using PCA and component scores were calculated at each time-point. In total 6177 children had data available at all four time-points. Three patterns were consistently seen across time: the 'processed', 'traditional' and 'health conscious' patterns. At 3 years an additional 'snack' pattern was obtained and at 9 years the 'health conscious' pattern was slightly modified (meat products were negatively associated). High correlations were evident for all three scores between each pair of time-points. The widest limits of agreement were seen for all pairings between the 3 and 9 years data, whilst the narrowest were seen between the 4 and 7 years data. A reasonable level of agreement was seen with the categorised component scores from each time-point of data (kappa ranging from 0.28 to 0.47). Virtually identical dietary patterns were obtained at the ages of 4 and 7; however, periods of change were apparent between the ages of 3 and 4 and the ages of 7 and 9. It is important to make regular dietary assessments during childhood in order to assess accurately the effects of diet on future health outcomes.
To empirically test the impact of dietary intake at several time points in childhood on children's school attainment and to investigate whether any differences in school attainment between children who ate packed lunches or school meals was due to who these children were, their pre-school dietary patterns, or to what they ate at school.
Using longitudinal data available in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), multivariate linear regression was used to assess the relative importance of diet at different ages for school attainment.
Three indicators of school attainment were used: at ages 4-5 entry assessments to school, at ages 6-7 Key Stage 1 national tests and at ages 10-11 Key Stage 2 national tests. These outcome variables were measured in levels as well as in changes from the previous educational stage.
The key finding at age 3 was that "junk food" dietary pattern had a negative association with the level of school attainment. A weak association remained after controlling for the impact of other dietary patterns at age 3, dietary patterns at ages 4 and 7 and other confounding factors. The authors did not find evidence that eating packed lunches or eating school meals affected children's attainment, once the impact of junk food dietary pattern at age 3 was accounted for in the model.
Early eating patterns have implications for attainment that appear to persist over time, regardless of subsequent changes in diet.
Vitaminemineral intake and intelligence: a macrolevel analysis of randomised controlled trials Nutrient intakes, vitaminemineral supplementation and intelligence in British schoolchildren
- Sj Schoenthaler
- Id Bier
- M Nelson
- Dj Naismith
- V Burley
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