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Diets high in fat, sugar and processed foods are lowering children's IQ, a new study suggests. The report says that eating habits among three year olds shapes brain performance as they get older.
A predominantly processed-food diet at the age of three is directly associated with a lower IQ at the age of eight and a half, according to a Bristol-based study of thousands of British children.
The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children is tracking the long-term health and wellbeing of around 14,000 children.
Food packed with vitamins and nutrients notably helped boost mental performance as youngsters got older, the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health reports.
Researchers said toddlers' diets could change IQ levels later in childhood, even if eating habits improve with age.
"This suggests that any cognitive/behavioural effects relating to eating habits in early childhood may well persist into later childhood, despite any subsequent changes to dietary intake," the authors wrote.
During the study, parents completed questionnaires detailing the types and frequency of the food and drink their children consumed when they were three, four, seven and eight-and-a-half years old.
Every one-point increase in the study's dietary pattern score – a record of processed fat intake – was associated with a 1.67-point fall in IQ.
The brain grows at its fastest rate during the first three years of life.
"It is possible that good nutrition during this period may encourage optimal brain growth," the report added.
The School Food Trust's director of research, Michael Nelson, said: "Given that around 23% of children start school either overweight or obese, it's absolutely clear that healthy choices as part of their early development will stand children in good stead – not only for keeping a healthy weight as they grow up, but as this evidence suggests, improving their ability to do well at school.
"These findings also demonstrate the importance of helping everyone involved with children's early development to get the information and advice they need on good nutrition."
参考译文：
一项新研究指出，高脂肪及高糖类膳食及加工食品降低了孩子们的IQ。该报告称，三岁孩子的饮食习惯定型了其长大后的大脑性能。
通过对布里斯托尔城市成千上万名英国儿童的研究得出，三岁时以加工食品为主的膳食习惯直接导致了其八岁半时较低的IQ水平。
这项关于父母-儿童的Avon纵向研究跟踪了大约14,000名儿童的长期健康和福利情况。
据《流行病学与社区健康》期刊报道，富含维他命和营养素的食品能增强孩子成长过程中的心理特质。
研究者表示，初学走路孩子的膳食能改变其稍后童年时期的IQ水平，即使随着年龄渐长改变了其膳食习惯。
作者写道，“幼儿期任何跟膳食习惯有关的认知/行为效应可能会一直持续到稍后的童年期，即使之后改变了其膳食习惯。”
在本次研究中，父母填写了列有其孩子3岁、四岁、七岁及八岁半时所摄入的食品及饮料类型和频率的问卷。
每增加一个本研究的膳食模式得分——加工脂肪的摄入记录，IQ水平则降低1.67个点。
在生命最初的三年时间里，大脑的成长速度是最快的。
该报告补充道，“这个时期良好的营养供给将保证大脑的最佳发育，这是很可能的。”
School Food Trust的研究总监Michael Nelson说：“现在已知约23%的孩子入学的时候不是超重就是肥胖，因此，大家要明确的是，早期成长过程中有益健康的选择将使孩子维持在一个良好的状态中——不仅是其长大后可以保持一个健康的体重，也如本研究结果所建议的，还可以提高其在学校方方面面的能力。
“这些研究发现也论证了帮助那些跟孩子早期成长有关的人员获取他们需要的有关良好营养知识方面信息和建议的重要性。”
