By Elizabeth Barker
Children who load up on sugar, processed foods, and fat in their first few years may be more likely to have low IQs, a new study from the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health suggests. For the study, parents of about 14,000 kids filled out questionnaires when their children were three-, four-, seven- and eight-and-a-half-years-old. Results showed that a diet high in nutritionally poor foods at age three was linked to a lower IQ at age 8.5—even if the diet had improved since that age. Meanwhile, kids who were fed lots of fruits, vegetables and grains early in life had a better chance of having a high IQ. Since the brain develops at its fastest rate during the first three years of life, the study’s authors explain, good nutrition might be essential to optimal brain growth and greater intelligence.
