- With Mayo Clinic emeritus consultant
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
Dr. Jay Hoecker, an emeritus consultant in the Department of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, brings valuable expertise to MayoClinic.com in general and primary care pediatrics. He has a particular interest in infectious diseases of children.
Dr. Hoecker, a Fort Worth, Texas, native, is certified as a pediatrician by the American Board of Pediatrics and is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics. He was trained at Washington University's St. Louis Children's Hospital, and in infectious diseases at MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1989.
"The World Wide Web is revolutionizing the availability and distribution of information, including health information about children and families," Dr. Hoecker says. "The evolution of the Web has included greater safety, privacy and accuracy over time, making the quality and access to children's health information immediate, practical and useful. I am happy to be a part of this service to patients from a trusted name in medicine, to use and foster all the good the Web has to offer children and their families."
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Question
ADHD diet: Do food additives cause hyperactivity?
I have a son with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). What does the research say about the relationship between food additives and ADHD?
Answer
from Jay L. Hoecker, M.D.
The issue of whether food additives affect children's behavior has long been controversial. Some research suggests that artificial colorings and preservatives may be associated with hyperactivity in children. But an association is not the same as a proven "cause-effect" relationship. There is no proof that food additives cause attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). ADHD is most likely due to a combination of changes in the structure of the brain and certain environmental factors.
However, a recent study funded by the United Kingdom's Food Standards Agency is sure to throw more fuel on the heated debate about food additives and hyperactivity. Researchers tested 300 children between the ages of 3 and 9 years old. Results published in September 2007 showed varying degrees of hyperactive behavior in the children after they consumed fruit drinks containing a mixture of food colorings and preservatives. The additives assessed in the study included sodium benzoate, sunset yellow, carmoisine, ponceau 4R, tartrazine, quinoline yellow and allura red. The study was unable to determine which of the additives may have affected behavior because all of the children were given a mix.
In response to the study, the Food Standards Agency advised parents to monitor their children's activity and if parents noted marked changes with foods containing additives, to eliminate these foods from their children's diets. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has issued no similar warning.
If you think certain foods affect your child's behavior, try eliminating them for a time to see if it helps. However, diets that are too restrictive may result in nutritional deficiencies in growing children. So it's important to talk to your child's doctor before trying a dietary treatment approach to ADHD.
