Additives & Hyperactivity

This just in from Jon (my unofficial health correspondent): in today’s New York Times, Elisabeth Rosenthal reports on UK research findings showing that some common food additives and colorings can increase hyperactive behavior and decrease attention span in kids (although Jon cautions that effect size isn’t specified in the NYT article). The British Food Standards Agency has responded by advising parents to eliminate additives and preservatives if consumption couples with behavior change. Interestingly, an MGH doctor makes the point that an increase in hyperactivity may not be clinically significant and worth the social impact of a kid not being able to eat the same food as his/her friends.