Study: Processed foods linked to lower IQ

BRISTOL, England, Feb. 9 (UPI) -- A diet in early childhood high in fat, sugar and processed foods may lower IQ, but a diet high in produce and grain may raise IQ, British researchers suggest.

Researchers at the University of Bristol's School of Social and Community Medicine in England analyzed data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, which tracks the long-term health and well being of some 14,000 children born in 1991 and 1992.

Parents also completed questionnaires on types and frequency of the foods and drinks of their children. IQ was measured using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children when the children were ages 8.5. Complete data were available on some 4,000 children.

The researchers classified the diets using a dietary pattern score for Processed food high in fats and sugars, traditional diet high in meat and two vegetables and health conscious diet high in salad, fruit and vegetables, rice and pasta.

The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, a predominantly processed food diet at age 3 was associated with a lower IQ at age 8.5, even if the diet improved after age 3. Every one-point increase in dietary pattern score was associated with a 1.67 fall in IQ, the study said.

The study also found the healthy diet was associated with a higher IQ at the age of 8.5, with every one-point increase in dietary pattern linked to a 1.2 increase in IQ.