With so much speculation in the media, many parents want to know if certain foods can affect a child's behaviour. Raisingkids.co.uk's paediatric dietitian, David Swain, helps separate food myths from nutrition facts.

Raisingkids member's query
Has anyone any information on possible links between eating chocolate, bread and cheese and hyperactivity and/or behaviour changes?

David's advice
The question of diet and hyperactivity or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is very controversial. The idea that food can affect behaviour should be taken seriously but the proportion of children who might benefit from a change in diet is unknown.

A number of different foods and additives have been linked to adverse affects on hyperactive children. In 1975 Ben Feingold, an American allergist, suggested hyperactive children would benefit from avoiding food containing chemicals called salicylates (found in tomatoes, apples and other fruits) together with certain artificial flavours and colours. However, subsequent studies showed only a few hyperactive children responded to the elimination of food additives from their diets.

Certain foods have also been reported to affect behaviour and the most common provoking foods are the same ones that cause allergies or intolerance generally (e.g. dairy products and wheat). Some professionals believe a diet's success could be due to the extra attention that children receive when on the diet and others feel an improvement in behaviour may be due more to firmer parental control than anything else.

To conclude, it's unknown exactly how foods affect behaviour and exactly which foods trigger hyperactive behaviour. Many hyperactive children have irregular and bizarre eating habits so my first line of approach would be to enforce a more 'normal' diet.

One more thing - if a parent decides to try changing their child's diet, I would recommend they contact their GP or a dietitian beforehand to ensure any changes will be safe.

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