Poor diet ‘can lower IQ among children’

A new scientific study has suggested that poor dietary habits at a young age may lower IQ among children.

Researchers from the University of Bristol have tracked the long-term health of around 14,000 children born in 1991 and 1992 to monitor the impact of diet on their development.

Analysis of data from 4,000 subjects showed that those with a predominantly processed food diet at the age of three tended to have lower IQs when they reached eight-and-a-half, regardless of whether eating habits improved after this point.

According to the report, this trend may be due to the fact that the brain grows at its fastest rate during the first three years.

Dr Pauline Emmett, senior research fellow at the university's school of social and community medicine, said: "It is possible that good nutrition during the first three years of life may encourage optimal brain growth, advocating further research to determine the extent of the effect early diet has on intelligence."

Encouraging UK residents to exchange processed food for healthier items is one of the objectives of the current government Change4Life programme, which launched its 'Great Swapathon' initiative last month.