By Cheap Pharmacies

Diet effects on child behavior being ignored, says nonprofit group

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) -- In a review of 23 studies from the past two decades on diet's effects on children's behavior, the Washington, DC-based Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) contends that the government, the food industry, and medical professionals have ignored evidence that some foods and food additives may trigger symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

"The Department of Health and Human Services should withdraw its printed and Internet documents that largely dismiss the effect of food ingredients on behavior," CSPI Executive Director Michael F. Jacobson said in a statement. The group, along with several academic experts in diet and behavior, calls upon federal health agencies to "advise parents to consider modifying their child's diet as a first means of treatment" before resorting to drug therapy. Further, the CSPI contends, the government should sponsor research to determine which and to what extent foods and food additives might affect ADHD.