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Additives Do Make Kids Hyper

British study links chemicals to disruptive behavior; government issues warning

By Colleen Barry, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 6, 2007 6:39 AM CDT

(Newser) – Adding fuel to a long-simmering debate, a British study has found that additives in sweets and soft drinks can indeed produce hyperactivity and disruptive behavior in children. The findings were so dramatic that the British government is issuing guidelines warning parents of kids with behavioral problems to avoid foods containing the additives, the Guardian reports.

Children from 3 to 9 years old were given mixtures of additives, including food colorings and sodium benzoate, a preservative used in soft drinks, in amounts comparable to what they might eat in a typical day. Some children showed significantly more disruptive behavior; some didn't. The altered behavior occurred in both children who had been diagnosed as hyperactive and some who had not. The study is detailed in this month's Lancet.

Diet Coke has the additives that caused disruptive behavior in kids in the new British study. ((c) diaper)

Diet Coke contains some of the chemicals found to cause hyperactivity in children. (KRT Photos)

Skittles contain some of the chemicals found to cause hyperactivity in children. ((c) sunshinecity)

Skittles contain some of the chemicals found to cause hyperactivity in children. ((c) j rg)

Skittles contain some of the chemicals found to cause hyperactivity in children. ((c) :: Suwaif ::)

Orangina contains some of the chemicals found to cause hyperactivity in children. ((c) jm3)

8 oz Diet Cokes ((c) diaper)

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Additives Do Make Kids Hyper

British study links chemicals to disruptive behavior; government issues warning

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'Functional Foods' Worry Health Experts

'Nutritious' junk food grabs growing US market share

Doctors See Rise in Kids With Kidney Stones

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15% reduction in your diet at age 25 could add 4½ years to your life, researchers think

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Fast-food packaging, not what's inside, sways kids' tastes

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OTHER STORIES ON OUR RADAR

food • health • science • children • behavior • soda • junk food • candy

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

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More Newser Stories

'Functional Foods' Worry Health Experts

'Nutritious' junk food grabs growing US market share

Doctors See Rise in Kids With Kidney Stones

Salty foods, lack of water, and obesity may be at fault

To Cheat Death, Eat Less

15% reduction in your diet at age 25 could add 4½ years to your life, researchers think

A Big Mac by Any Other Name Is Not as Tasty

Fast-food packaging, not what's inside, sways kids' tastes

Soda—Even Diet—Is Linked to Heart Risk

More than one a day increases metabolic syndrome

About Us

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Newser By Users

Community

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More News

What is Newser?