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Nutrient intakes, vitamin-mineral supplementation, and intelligence in British schoolchildren
M Nelson1, D J Naismith, V Burley
1Department of Food and Nutritional Sciences, King's College London.
Insights
This study found no evidence that vitamin-mineral supplements improved learning ability in British schoolchildren. Dietary quality did not appear to limit cognitive performance in the children studied.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Cognitive Development
- Public Health
Background:
- Dietary intake and its impact on cognitive function in children is a significant public health concern.
- Micronutrient deficiencies are hypothesized to affect learning ability, but evidence in well-nourished populations is limited.
- Understanding the relationship between diet quality and intelligence is crucial for educational and health policies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether a vitamin-mineral supplement improves cognitive performance in schoolchildren.
- To determine if dietary micronutrient intake correlates with intelligence test scores in children.
- To assess if the quality of diet limits learning ability in a general population of British schoolchildren.
Main Methods:
- A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 227 children aged 7-12 years.
- Children recorded food and drink intake for seven days, followed by intelligence testing (verbal and non-verbal).
- Participants were randomized into supplement or placebo groups for 28 days, with post-intervention re-testing.
Main Results:
- No significant differences in cognitive test performance were observed between the supplement and placebo groups.
- No consistent correlations were found between intelligence test scores and measured micronutrient intakes.
- The study found no evidence suggesting that the children's learning ability was constrained by their dietary quality.
Conclusions:
- Supplementation with a vitamin-mineral mix did not enhance cognitive performance in this cohort of schoolchildren.
- Dietary quality, within the range observed, did not appear to be a limiting factor for learning ability in British children.
- Further research may be needed to explore specific nutrient-deficiency impacts or different age groups.
Abstract:
Children (227), aged 7-12 years, weighed and recorded all food and drink consumed for seven consecutive days. Each child completed tests of verbal and non-verbal intelligence, and was then randomly allocated to one of two groups after matching for age, sex, IQ and height. In a double-blind trial lasting for 28 d, one group received a vitamin-mineral supplement daily and the other group a placebo. On re-testing, there were no significant differences in performance between the two groups. Furthermore, there was no consistent correlations between test scores and micronutrient intakes based on the weighed records. Thus, we found no evidence that learning ability in a cross-section of British schoolchildren was limited by the quality of their diets.