A diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often made in children who show a pattern of overactive, impulsive, and inattentive behavior. More than 30 years ago, Benjamin Feingold claimed that artificial food colors and other food additives produce hyperactivity in children.
Feingold was a pediatric allergist who wrote "Why Your Child Is Hyperactive" and devised a diet to prevent ADHD. Although many parents have suspected such a relationship, and ADHD support groups have recommended for years that these additives be removed from the diet, the issue has remained controversial due to the lack of adequate supporting evidence.
Now a new controlled, double-blind trial has confirmed that certain food additives caused hyperactivity in healthy young children who did not have ADHD.
Nearly 300 children from the community of Southampton, United Kingdom, participated in the study. The children (153 3-year-olds and 144 8- or 9-year-olds) were challenged for 6 weeks with drinks containing a placebo mix or the commonly used food preservative sodium benzoate, plus one of two (A or B) different mixes of food colorings.
After consuming the drinks, the children were evaluated for inattention and hyperactivity by parents, teachers (for school-age children), and with several computer tests. Compared with the placebo, Mix A - but not Mix B - had a significant adverse effect on the 3-year-old children. On the older children, both the A and the B additive mixes had significant adverse effects. The study could not determine which colorings caused hyperactivity because all the drinks contained mixtures of widely used food colors.
The researchers concluded that "artificial colours or a sodium benzoate preservative (or both) in the diet result in increased hyperactivity in 3-year-old and 8/9-year-old children in the general population."
Keep in mind that children already diagnosed with ADHD may be even more sensitive to such food additives than are other children.
Does this mean that children with ADHD should avoid food coloring and other additives? Not necessarily. Dr. Thomas Spencer, from Massachusetts General Hospital, points out that even a statistically significant effect of an additive may be too small to adversely affect a child's life. He also expressed concern that avoiding certain foods and drinks might have its own negative impact if a child cannot eat or drink the same things as his or her friends.
In response to the study, the Food Standards Agency in Great Britain advised that parents monitor their children's activity and, if a marked change is noted with foods containing such additives, adjust their diets to eliminate artificial colors and preservatives. The advice seems sound but difficult to follow.
