

Research Shows ADHD Increased by Food Additives - charzom
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/06/health/research/06hyper.html?ex=1346731200&en=dbf718c298c91c04&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss

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danteembermage
The trouble with these kinds of studies (and with empirical evidence in
general) is that there are often omitted correlating factors left out of the
analysis. Doctors would be sure to control diet and other medications,
economists would control socioeconomic status, sociologists would look for
cultural factors, etc. However, they're not going to do two or three of these
sets at once so the result is a biased study no matter who performs it.

In this case I think a good potential omitted factor is the level of parental
discipline. Suppose parents A are Dr. Spock laissez-faire with their kids.
This is most likely correlated with: Not sitting still for the family meal
Watching a lot of television Getting their way in public places So Junior gets
lots of TV dinners, quick snacks, and time with the power rangers so he wants
to do karate instead of read Fox in Socks

Parents B run a tight ship and consequently their vegan, free-range fed
wonder-child is happy to sit on the magic carpet and hear about anything so
long as it's not The Wealth of Nations again.

Applying the overused correlation != causation mantra is a bit cheap, to be
fair we must follow the immediate next step, "If correlation != causation,
why?" I think here we have plenty of compelling falsifiable narratives to try
before we make green key-lime pie illegal.

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greendestiny
Well its a shame you didn't read the article, they conducted a placebo
controlled study where they randomly introduced these additives into the
children's diets. There really should be no systemic effect from self-
selection, apart from in the recruitment process (which they don't discuss).

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iamwil
I remember NPR doing a story on this. Their conclusion was that the headline's
a little misleading. It should say SOME food additives may cause ADHD behavior
in SOME children.

I guess the affect is small and affects those predisposed.

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kingkongrevenge
This is much less surprising than the research on Omega 3 fatty acids and
hyperactivity.

Researchers found that supplementing problem kids with fish oil had dramatic
effects. Youth offenders showed something like a 40% drop in recidivism vs the
control. Low grade-level readers mostly rose to grade level within months.

The implication of this is that lousy food is causing criminality and
stupidity. The UK government concluded from this research that it would be
very cost effective to provide fish oil supplements to school children.

But here's the scary bit: there aren't enough fish in the world. Once they ran
the numbers they found it would be impossible.

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curi
_Common food additives and colorings can increase hyperactive behavior in a
broad range of children, a study being released today found.

It was the first time researchers conclusively and scientifically confirmed a
link that had long been suspected by many parents. Numerous support groups for
attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have for years recommended removing
such ingredients from diets, although experts have continued to debate the
evidence._

So, the parents and support groups "knew" the answer _before_ there was
scientific evidence supporting their claims.

So, they didn't know, they just have an unscientific agenda.

Now the article acts like their position was validated. It was not. It's
scientific status hasn't changed whether science happens to reach the same
conclusion or not. They are irrational either way.

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curi
_In response to the study, the Food Standards Agency advised parents to
monitor their children's activity and, if they noted a marked change with food
containing additives, to adjust their diets accordingly, eliminating
artificial colors and preservatives._

That's stupid too. Parents aren't going to monitor children's behavior
_scientifically_. They aren't going to record it carefully and objectively and
compare it to control data previously recorded. This advice will simply lead
them to act on whims and fancies.

