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Food Additives Linked To Hyperactivity In Children

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By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL, The New York Times

Published: September 8, 2007

Common food additives and colorings can increase hyperactive behavior in a broad range of children, a study released this week found.

It was the first time researchers conclusively and scientifically confirmed a link that had long been suspected by many parents. Support groups for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have for years recommended removing such ingredients from diets, although experts have continued to debate the evidence.

But the new, carefully controlled study shows that some artificial additives increase hyperactivity and decrease attention span in a wide variety of children, not just those for whom overactivity has been diagnosed as a learning problem.

The new research, financed by Britain's Food Standards Agency and published online by the British medical journal The Lancet, presents regulators with a number of issues: Should foods containing preservatives and artificial colors carry warning labels? Should some additives be prohibited? Should school cafeterias remove foods with additives?

'A mix of additives commonly found in children's foods increases the mean level of hyperactivity,' wrote the researchers, led by Jim Stevenson, a professor of psychology at the University of Southampton. 'The finding lends strong support for the case that food additives exacerbate hyperactive behaviors inattention, impulsivity and overactivity at least into middle childhood.'

In response to the study, the Food Standards Agency advised parents to monitor their children's activity and, if they noted a marked change with food containing additives, to adjust their diets accordingly, eliminating artificial colors and preservatives.

But Stevenson said it was premature to go further. 'We've set up an issue that needs more exploration,' he said in a telephone interview.

The study focused on a variety of food colorings and sodium benzoate, a preservative. The researchers note that removing this preservative from food could cause problems by increasing spoilage.

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