A recent study published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health and The Nuherald reports that poor diets have been lowering children’s IQ.
The study links diets that are high in fat, sugar, and processed foods to lower levels of brain performance as the children get older.
The researchers who produced the study stated that toddlers could improve or worsen their IQ levels with their diets.
They revealed, “This suggest that any cognitive/behavioural effects relating to eating habits in early childhood may well persist into later childhood, despite any subsequent changes in dietary intake.”
The study, known as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, continues to track the long-term health and well-being of an approximately 14,000 children.
They have specifically pointed to three year olds, whose IQs have suffered later on due to a poor diet.
Michael Nelson, the School Fund Trust’s director of research, states, “Given that around 23% of children start school either overweight or obese, it’s absolutely clear that healthy choices as part of their early development will stand children in good stead-not only for keeping a healthy weight as they grow up, but as evidence suggest, improving their ability to do well at school.”