Omega-3 Fatty Acids Improve Children’s Reading And Behavior

UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD, OXFORD, UK. A new study has shown that taking omega-3 fatty acids (Docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA) daily improves the reading and behavior of primary school children who perform less well than the others. Children between the ages seven and nine worked together with researchers to prove this claim to be true. In this case, DHA supplementation proves to be an effective and simpler way to improve an underachieving child’s reading and behavior despite being healthy.

Usually found in fish and other seafood, DHA is actually considered as a key omega-3 fatty acid. To make it more suitable for vegetarians, the DHA used for this particular study came from algae. In some earlier studies, omega-3 supplementation to children with conditions such as Dyslexia, Developmental Coordination Disorder and ADHD has been proven to be an effective way to improve their conditions. In this case, this is the first study that shows positive results in children who come from the general school population.

Dr. Alex Richardson is one of the researchers on the study at the Centre for Evidence-Based Intervention at Oxford University. He is working with Paul Montgomery, a Professor of Psychosocial Intervention in the same university. They selected 362 healthy children between the ages seven and nine who were underperformers to take a daily dose of 600 mg of omega-3 DHA from algal oil for 16 weeks. After 16 weeks, the underperforming children who took the treatment have shown improvement in their reading and behavior.