Nutrition in youth is critical to IQ
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.EARLY NUTRITION can significantly influence mental ability later in life, a 16-year study by the Medical Research Council has proved.
Research into premature babies found those who were not given nutrient- enriched formula milk had lower IQs by the age of eight than those who had been given the special milk.
But because "critical" spurts in brain growth takes place between the last three months of pregnancy and age two,researchers conclude their findings could have significance for the nutrition of premature and full-term babies. In a randomised controlled trial, Professor Alan Lucas of the Institute of Child Health fed 424 premature babies a "nutrition enriched" pre-term formula milk or a standard formula for one month after birth.
In the MRC study, it was found that those infants fed the standard formula instead of the nutrient enriched one had reduced verbal IQ at 8 years. The effect was particularly notable in boys.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments