A qualitative interview study on effects of diet on children's mental state and performance. Evaluation of perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of parents in four European countries

Nutrition is one of the many factors that influence a child’s cognitive development and performance. Understanding the relationship between nutrition and mental performance in children is important in terms of their attainment and productivity both in school and later life. Since parents are seen as nutritional gatekeepers for their children’s diets, their views and beliefs are of crucial importance. The present study aims to qualitatively examine parents’ perceptions of the relationship between diet and mental performance of children. The study was conducted with a total of 124 parents in four European countries using a semi-structured interview schedule. Parents speak of the effects of diet at two levels; the nature of the effects of diet and the characteristics of the foods responsible for these effects. Mental outcomes are related to diet, with the effects perceived to be associated with attention and concentration, often mediated by effects on children’s mood and behaviour. Parents categorise foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ with positive effects related generally to a healthy balanced diet while negative effects are perceived to be associated with sugary and fatty foods. Understanding parental perceptions is important for many purposes including the targeting of dietary advice and prioritising of public health issues

A qualitative interview study on effects of diet on children's mental state and performance. Evaluation of perceptions, attitudes and beliefs of parents in four European countries

Nutrition is one of the many factors that influence a child’s cognitive development and performance. Understanding the relationship between nutrition and mental performance in children is important in terms of their attainment and productivity both in school and later life. Since parents are seen as nutritional gatekeepers for their children’s diets, their views and beliefs are of crucial importance. The present study aims to qualitatively examine parents’ perceptions of the relationship between diet and mental performance of children. The study was conducted with a total of 124 parents in four European countries using a semi-structured interview schedule. Parents speak of the effects of diet at two levels; the nature of the effects of diet and the characteristics of the foods responsible for these effects. Mental outcomes are related to diet, with the effects perceived to be associated with attention and concentration, often mediated by effects on children’s mood and behaviour. Parents categorise foods as ‘good’ or ‘bad’ with positive effects related generally to a healthy balanced diet while negative effects are perceived to be associated with sugary and fatty foods. Understanding parental perceptions is important for many purposes including the targeting of dietary advice and prioritising of public health issues

The effect of diet on the physical and mental development of children: views of parents and teachers in four European countries.

Although the impact of diet on physical health is an important public health issue, less attention has been devoted to the relationship between nutrition and children's mental development. The views of parents and teachers about the extent to which diet affects physical and mental development of children were compared in four European countries. An online questionnaire (developed in English and translated) was circulated through a market research agency. Participants were parents or teachers of children aged 4-10 years without learning or behavioural issues. Questionnaires were returned by 1606 parents (401 in England, Germany and Hungary; 403 in Spain) and 403 teachers (100 in each country, except for 103 in Hungary). Teachers were older than parents (35·3 % v. 18·3 % over 45 years; P<0·001) and less likely to smoke (15·9 % v. 26·3 %, P<0·001). There was no difference between the proportions of parents and teachers who felt that a child's physical development depended very much/extremely (v. moderately/slightly/not at all) on diet (overall 79·8 %). Lower proportions of both groups thought that mental development was very much/extremely influenced by diet (67·4 %). In the regression modelling, believing that physical and mental performance was greatly influenced by diet was significantly and positively associated with living in Hungary, scoring higher on a measure of General Health Interest and (parents only) level of education attained. Differences existed among countries in most views. Lower levels of awareness of the importance of diet for brain development and cognition (compared with physical health outcomes) indicate the potential for educating consumers, especially parents with lower educational attainment

The effect of diet on children's mental performance: a study of the attitudes, knowledge and perceptions of UK parents

Nutrition is one of many factors that affect development of the brain and hence the mental performance of children; the latter term being used to describe a great variety of different brain-mediated functions and processes. The brain develops throughout childhood and an adequate diet is required for its optimal functioning and development(1). Consequently undernutrition has been associated with problems of cognition and behaviour, both on a short-term and long-term basis(2). To remain metabolically active the brain requires a constant supply of glucose as well as a range of other nutrients and both the nature of children’s diets and pattern of meal consumption may influence mental performance. Parents are responsible for the provision of food within the home and as such play a key role in the development of children’s food choices and eating behaviours(3,4). There is little published research on parent’s perceptions of the relationship between a child’s diet and their mental performance. The aim of the present qualitative study was to explore the attitudes, knowledge and perceptions of parents of the effect of diet on children’s development. Parents were recruited through a number of primary schools in the Guildford area. A semistructured interview schedule was used; topics included the effect of food on children’s wellbeing and development, the physical and mental effects of food and the short- and long-term effects of children’s diets. Further questions were asked about possible effects of specific foods, meals and supplements as well as the impact of what children eat in school on their performance. Analysis of the interviews identified a number of themes including the overarching relationship between diet and health. Parents spoke of the effects of diet in terms of physical, mental and behavioural outcomes, clearly distinguishing between what they perceived as positive and negative foods: ‘I’ve seen children’s behaviour different when they’ve eaten certain foods, like they get hyper when they have sweet stuff and drink sugary stuff and eat sweets and cakes’. Concentration was the aspect of mental performance most discussed by parents, being affected both by particular foods and by feelings of hunger: ‘I would imagine that if they’re hungry they will be tired, they’re not going to concentrate, they’re not going to do as well as they could do’. Parents attested to the importance of establishing good eating habits in childhood, as these habits would continue into adult life with implications for future health. The present study provides evidence of parents’ views on the effects of food on children’s performance. Further research is needed to examine the views of others with insights in relation to children’s development (e.g. teachers). This research is funded by the European Community’s 7th Framework Programme (FP7/2008–2013) under grant agreement no. 212652 (NUTRIMENTHE Project ‘The effect of diet on the mental performance of children’)

Importance of mental performance in parental choice of food for children aged 4 – 10 years: a study in four European countries

Objective: Typically, attention focuses on how nutrition affects physical health. The present study investigated the importance that parents attach to the impact of diet on mental performance when choosing food for their child. Design: Questionnaire. Setting: Four European countries. Subjects: Parents of children aged 4–10 years (n 1574): England (n 397), Germany (n 389), Hungary (n 398) and Spain (n 390). Results: Most parents (80–85 %) considered the effect of food on four elements of mental performance (child’s ability to learn, attention, behaviour, mood) to be moderately, very, extremely (v. slightly, not at all) important in food choices; over 90% considered healthiness of food and making food appealing to their child important; 79·8% cost; 76·8% convenience. Belief that food affects mental performance was 57·4% (ability to learn), 60·5% (attention); less than 40% of parents agreed they were aware which foods had an effect. Parents with lower general interest in healthy eating were less likely to consider the effect of food on mental performance elements as important. Respondents from Germany were more likely to rate mental performance as important (except behaviour); those in Hungary less likely. The most important influence on parents’ decisions about feeding their child was their own experience, except Spain, where family/friends/ health professionals were more important. Conclusions: Nutrition affects brain development and cognitive functioning. Low prioritisation of the effect of food on mental performance indicates potential for educating parents

Importance of mental performance in parental choice of food for children aged 4 – 10 years: a study in four European countries

Objective: Typically, attention focuses on how nutrition affects physical health. The present study investigated the importance that parents attach to the impact of diet on mental performance when choosing food for their child. Design: Questionnaire. Setting: Four European countries. Subjects: Parents of children aged 4–10 years (n 1574): England (n 397), Germany (n 389), Hungary (n 398) and Spain (n 390). Results: Most parents (80–85 %) considered the effect of food on four elements of mental performance (child’s ability to learn, attention, behaviour, mood) to be moderately, very, extremely (v. slightly, not at all) important in food choices; over 90% considered healthiness of food and making food appealing to their child important; 79·8% cost; 76·8% convenience. Belief that food affects mental performance was 57·4% (ability to learn), 60·5% (attention); less than 40% of parents agreed they were aware which foods had an effect. Parents with lower general interest in healthy eating were less likely to consider the effect of food on mental performance elements as important. Respondents from Germany were more likely to rate mental performance as important (except behaviour); those in Hungary less likely. The most important influence on parents’ decisions about feeding their child was their own experience, except Spain, where family/friends/ health professionals were more important. Conclusions: Nutrition affects brain development and cognitive functioning. Low prioritisation of the effect of food on mental performance indicates potential for educating parents

Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, homocysteine at birth and fatty acid desaturase gene cluster polymorphisms are associated with children’s processing speed up to age 9 years.

Both pre-and early postnatal supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), arachi-donic acid (AA) and folate have been related to neural development, but their long-term effects on later neural function remain unclear. We evaluated the long-term effects of maternal prenatal supplementation with fish-oil (FO), 5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-MTHF), placebo or FO + 5-MTHF, as well as the role of fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene cluster polymorphisms, on their offspring’s processing speed at later school age. This study was conducted in NUHEAL children at 7.5 (n = 143) and 9 years of age (n = 127). Processing speed tasks were assessed using Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT), Children Color Trails Test (CCTT) and Stroop Color and Word Test (SCWT). Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids, folate and total homocysteine (tHcy) levels were determined at delivery from maternal and cord blood samples. FADS and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677 C &gt; T genetic polymorphisms were analyzed. Mixed models (linear and logistic) were performed. There were significant differences in processing speed performance among children at different ages (p &lt; 0.001). The type of prenatal supplementation had no effect on processing speed in children up to 9 years. Secondary exploratory analyses indicated that children born to mothers with higher AA/DHA ratio at delivery (p &lt; 0.001) and heterozygotes for FADS1 rs174556 (p &lt; 0.05) showed better performance in processing speed at 9 years. Negative associations between processing speed scores and maternal tHcy levels at delivery were found. Our findings suggest speed processing development in children up to 9 years could be related to maternal factors, including AA/DHA and tHcy levels, and their genetic background, mainly FADS polymorphism. These considerations support that maternal prenatal supplementation should be quantitatively adequate and individualized to obtain better brain development and mental performance in the offspring