Artificial additives exacerbate hyperactivity in children
Artificial colors and additives commonly used in children’s food exacerbate hyperactivity in children, even those who do not have the disorder, according to an article published today in the medical journal The Lancet.
A group of scientists from the University of Southampton (southern England) studied the effects of additives on children’s behavior changes in a group of nearly 300 children, 153 of them in 3 years and another 144, 8 and 9.
Children were given in some cases two different drink mixes that include various additives, in others a placebo.
Among these substances contained the preservative sodium benzoate (E211), used in soft drinks as “Pepsi Max”, “Fanta” or “Sprite” and artificial coloring E110, E102, E122, E124, E129 and E104, present in many sweets and sweets consumed daily by British children.
For example, the E110 is used in corn snacks “Doritos” and E122 in the “Fanta”.
It is not the first research that links between additives and hyperactivity in children, but its importance is that this time has been studied in children older than three years and not all with the conduct disorder.
They detected evidence of hyperactive children who had consumed drinks that include additives, such as a rowdy behavior, loss of concentration, inability to play with one toy or complete a task and increased talkativeness.
The mixture A, which included higher levels of additives, caused “significant adverse effects” in all three year olds, who, however, reacted more variable to the mix B, containing the daily average of additives consumed by British children.
Children in the older group showed a significant adverse effect when they took either combination.
The British Food Control Agency (FSA) has rejected calls for a ban on these additives, but has issued a warning to parents about the risks of these ingredients if their children show signs of hyperactivity.
The FSA says it is for the European Union authorities to legislate on these additives.
In presenting the report’s findings, the research director, Jim Stevenson, found that early action could be taken against artificial coloring, but that would take longer to phase out the use of sodium benzoate as a preservative.
The global additives business is valued at more than 25,000 million dollars annually, according to British newspaper “The Guardian”