Following a study by scientists at Southampton University, the papers this week have been awash with articles on the effects of food additives on children, and whether these are to blame for hyperactivity and behavioural problems that seem to be becoming more and more common.
As you know, I’m no fan of these additives and E numbers. There is absolutely no reason why they should appear in our foods, other than to entice children to pester their parents for brightly coloured, fantasy tasting ‘treats’ that appear too exciting to resist. And that’s before the adults get tempted too…
Long term, children that regularly consume foods laden with additives are likely to grow into adults that cannot appreciate the true flavour of food, and that is going to prove deadly to our impending obesity crisis. Many of today’s children will find real food dull, boring and tasteless and instead steer themselves towards nutritionally ‘dead’ junk.
What future headache does that hold for Trainers, Nutritionists and Lifestyle Coaches if it’s hard enough getting grown adults away from artifically flavoured foods, in favour of more vegetables, more fibre and more protein??
Until there’s a total ban on these additives (which may never happen), there is one way to reduce the chances of behavioural problems in children; get the family outdoors and be more active.
The more time children spend indoors, in front of the TV, the games console or the internet, the more chance they have of steering towards these ‘sweet treats’ to pep up their flagging energy.
With less regular physical activity, they will also find it hard to know how to expend this newly-found energy, which could be when you find a troublesome child on your hands…
