Academic urges caution over 'clever' kids claims
Food manufacturers should "stop making unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of omega-3s for children's learning and cognitive abilities" until more research is conducted, according to an expert in nutrition and mental health.
While there was good evidence that long-chain omega-3 fatty acids could boost early brain development and help children with conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Asperger syndrome, more evidence was needed of the effects that omega-3 had on ordinary kids, said Dr Peter Willatts, senior lecturer in psychology at Dundee University.
He added: "It is common to find statements such as, 'omega-3 may enhance a child's concentration and learning'. But there is currently no evidence to back up these claims. Fatty acid supplements have been found to produce some improvement in the behaviour of children with learning difficulties, but we still do not know which fats are effective or what their effects might be on specific cognitive abilities."
His comments came as Nestlé announced plans to pump £10.6M into research into nutrition and the brain over the next five years to capitalise on a potentially lucrative niche in the functional foods market. The cash will fund research into the impact of nutrition on the speed of mental degeneration, early brain development and Alzheimer's.
Dr Bernard Gesch, a senior research scientist at Oxford University, said that any study into diet and mental health was welcome. He added: "We have made huge changes to the diet in a relatively short space of time without any real analysis of its impact on our brains, which are probably best adapted to what we were eating in the Stone Age."
John Stein, professor of neuroscience at Oxford University, said there was growing evidence that diets deficient in long-chain omega-3 fatty acids were "potentially dangerous" to neurones that mediated auditory and visual attention. Impairment of these neurones could lead to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, Asperger syndrome, dyslexia and dyspraxia, he said.
