A new study into the effects of fish oil on children’s attention and performance in the classroom should be of great interest to parents of children with ADHD. The trial which was conducted by Durham County Council and Oxford University showed that children given eye q – a combination of omega-3 fish oil and omega-6 fish oil performed better in the classroom in a series of tests.

The Durham Schools Trial involved 120 children aged between 6 and 12 years from varying socio-economic backgrounds, who were selected on the basis of a diagnosis of dyspraxia, many with accompanying conditions such as ADHD and dyslexia. Half took fish oil supplements and half were on placebo (olive oil). Those children who took the fish oil supplements ‘made highly significant improvements in all seven Global behavioural scales’ said the study, ‘which include the three diagnostic features of ADHD: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.’ The study also revealed improvements in the children’s short term memory and 40% of the children made ‘dramatic’ improvements in reading and spelling.

‘Previous trials have shown some improvements in behaviour for children with ADHD but not to extent we observed,’ said Dr Portwood, the Senior Educational Psychologist at Durham LEA who ran the trial. ‘In particular, boys who had been very disruptive in class were able to concentrate for longer without becoming distracted which obviously has implications for improved learning’.

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