Do you want your kids to concentrate and memorize better, read better, and have fewer problem behaviors? Of course you do, doh! Which parent wants his/her kids to be unsocial brats who struggle at school?! Good news, adjusting your kids’ diet by a little bit does just that.
Foods rich in omega-3 have been known to lower cholesterol, reduce high blood pressure, protect the heart, ease joint pains, and improve skin health. What is new is the finding that they are actually integral to children’s cognition and behavior. Who knew foods so readily available could do so much good, in one shot?
According to a recent study published in Plos One (the online non-profit, open-access, peer-reviewed journal), researchers at the University of Oxford, Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention in the Department of Social Policy and Intervention, studied 493 healthy schoolchildren aged 7-9, selected for their below average reading performance in national assessments at age 7. An analysis of the blood fatty acid status of the participants and their scores on several ability and behavior scales revealed that blood Omega-3 LC-PUFA (long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids) and DHA (docosahexaenonic acid) significantly predicted both their behavior and their cognitive performance, with high levels of Omega-3 LC-PUFA and DHA associated with:
- better reading ability
- better working memory performance
- lesser behavior problems (ADHD, anxiety, oppositional behaviors, psychosomatic symptoms)
“Omega-3 are dietary essentials, but average intakes are low in most modern developed countries” the authors stated, positing that this “may be contributing to a wide range of physical and mental health disorders”, including “common childhood behavior and learning difficulties such as ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and related conditions”.
Bottom line?
Omega-3 long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA) play key roles in normal brain development and functioning as well as in cardiovascular and immune system health. The parents of the children in the study reported that over 80% of them ate fish less than twice a week, and 9% did not eat fish at all. This begs the question: what are we waiting for to increase our kids’ consumption of foods rich in Omega-3 acids (and ours too, while we’re at it)?
Source: Montgomery P, Burton JR, Sewell RP, Spreckelsen TF, Richardson AJ (2013) Low Blood Long Chain Omega-3 Fatty Acids in UK Children Are Associated with Poor Cognitive Performance and Behavior: A Cross-Sectional Analysis from the DOLAB Study. PLoS ONE 8(6): e66697. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0066697
Have a behavior or child development question? Ask Megan at contact(at)meganbroutian(dot)com.
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