Junk food is often eaten before age 3, and IQ is lower than peers.
British research
14 thousand children after years of follow-up to British researchers found that people who had more junk food before they were 3 years old may have lower IQ than their peers.
affecting intelligence quotient
this study involved 14 thousand people born in Western England in 1991 and 1992. The researchers asked their parents to answer questionnaires at the age of 3, 4, 7, and 8, to understand the details of the diet of the subjects.
researchers focus on 3 types of diet, one is a diet rich in processed fat and sugar, two is a "traditional" diet of meat and vegetables, and three is a "healthy" diet, mainly with salad, fruit, vegetables, pasta and rice.
when the subjects were 8 to 6 months old, the researchers used their Wechsler Intelligence Scale to test their IQ. The results showed that among the 4000 data participants, there was a significant difference in the intelligence quotient between those who ate more processed foods before the age of 3 and those who were "healthy". The average IQ of 1/5 children with the most processed food was 101, and the average IQ of 1/5 children with "healthy" diet was 106,
report authors of
the social and community medical school at the University of Bristol in the UK. "But it makes them less capable of dealing with education and other things in life."
the relationship between intelligence quotient and nutrition is controversial because it is easy to be influenced by many factors such as economic conditions, social background and so on. Emmet said, the researchers have carefully excluded a variety of factors, comprehensive consideration of the mother's education background, mother's social background, age, living conditions, family environment, life events, the number of books, the use of television and so on. The scale of the study is the largest in similar studies.
experts explain
the lack of brain development nutrition
the reason for the impact of junk food on IQ. Emmet believes that the food based diet is short of vitamins and other elements that are essential to brain development, while the main stage of brain development is in the early life. .
"the brain develops fastest in the first 3 years of life, and good nutrition at this stage may lead to the best development of the brain," she said. "At the age of 3, brain development begins to slow down, and diet may not have much effect on it."
Emmet said that children with a "healthy" diet and a "traditional" diet may have a higher IQ because they eat more fruits, vegetables, meat, fish and home cooking.
"this does not mean that children will never be given carbonated drinks, French fries or pizza, but they cannot be dominated by these foods and beverages." She said, "children should eat normal family foods, such as fresh food cooked at home."