Food additives and hyperkinesis: are there nuts among the berries?

In this issue of Pediatrics, two studies focus on the subject of food additives and hyperkinesis. They represent a scientific approach to a current pediatric dilemma: Do food additives cause children to be hyperactive? Unfortunately, concerns about additives and hyperkinesis developed as a result of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pediatrics (Evanston) 1978-06, Vol.61 (6), p.932-934
Main Authors: Bierman, C W, Furukawa, C T
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child
Child, Preschool
Food Additives - adverse effects
Food Coloring Agents - adverse effects
Humans
Hyperkinesis - etiology
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Summary:In this issue of Pediatrics, two studies focus on the subject of food additives and hyperkinesis. They represent a scientific approach to a current pediatric dilemma: Do food additives cause children to be hyperactive? Unfortunately, concerns about additives and hyperkinesis developed as a result of feelings, beliefs, fads, and emotions and had little to do with science. At the annual meeting of the American Medical Association in June 1973, Dr. Benjamin F. Feingold presented a paper correlating children's hyperactivity with their consumption of food additives such as artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives, as well as natural salicylates. He claimed that 30% to 50% of children that he treated with special additive-free diets had striking behavioral improvement.
ISSN:0031-4005
1098-4275
DOI:10.1542/peds.61.6.932