Toddlers’ junk food may harm ability to learn
[ 30 Jul 2008 ]
According to the research team from the Institute of Education at London University and the Children of the 90’s study at Bristol University, children who eat more junk food at the age of three are less likely to develop quickly academically.
Despite the government’s initiative to increase funding for school meals in England after a high-profile campaign in 2005 by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, the research found that the quality of school dinners made no difference to performance in Sats tests.
Researchers instead claim that it is the junk food eaten at the age of three that could really have an impact on a child’s progress.
Mothers were asked to record their child’s consumption of food and drink at the ages of three, four and seven. Eating lots of junk food at three was linked with slower progress in primary school, but a poor diet at four and seven made little difference to their educational progress.
The study also found that 25% of children who ate the most junk food at three years old were 10% less likely to achieve the expected improvement between tests at ages six to seven and tests at ten and 11.
The research was based on data from the Children of the 90’s study, which followed the development of 14,000 children since their birth in 1991 or 1992.
Source Nursery and Childcare Market News
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