Food additives 'link' to hyperactivity

It's what many parents already suspected - a study published today in the Lancet medical journal claims to have established for the first time a link between food additives and hyperactivity in children.

A team of researchers at the University of Southampton measured the effects of commonly found food colourants on a group of three year olds and a group of eight-to nine-year-olds.

The study found that deterioration in behaviour occurred in children across the group - not just those identified as suffering from hyperactivity.

The study also noted that the effects were greater on three-year-old children than for the older children.

Additives have been implicated for decades in behavioural changes in children - so why do manufacturers continue to use them? Or do we only have ourselves as consumers to blame?

The Food Standards Agency said today it was deferring the decision to ban additives to the European Food Standards Agency. But if additives have such a proved impact on children's behaviour, the question many parents are asking is, why wait?

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