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.
