Omega-3 DHA improves children's reading skills and behavior

DHA: improved behavior and reading ability in children

Children with reading difficulties in school can improve their reading skills and behavior by takingOmega-3 DHA. A study from the University of Oxford (UK) published in PLoS ^ONE1 shows that daily intake of Omega-3 improves the reading skills and behavior of children who have trouble reading. Specifically, the Omega-3 that exerts this important benefit is docosahexaenoic acid(DHA), one of the nutrients in which fatty fish, fish oil, and seaweed oil are rich. Children who benefit from its intake are between the ages of 7 and 9 years. 

Omega-3 for children sani

Omega-3 fatty acids are important nutrients for the development of the nervous system even in the womb. Not only that, several researches have shown that after birth these molecules improve the health status of children with behavioral or cognitive problems. These include attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia and developmental coordination disorder (DCD). The study conducted by the Oxford researchers is, however, the first to demonstrate such a pronounced effect of Omega-3 intake on the school-age population. 

Read better with the help of omega-3 DHA supplements

To analyze the effect of omega-3 DHA intake, the authors scheduled daily administration of 600 mg of DHA, in the form of algae oil, or a placebo containing no omega-3 to 362 children aged 7 to 9 years. All participants involved in the study were in good health and did not suffer from pathological behavioral disorders, but they scored below average on reading tests. Omega-3 intake continued for 16 weeks and significantly improved the reading skills of those children who had the lowest scores recorded in the general population at the beginning of the study. In other words, of those who could read worse than all the children involved in the trial. Not only that, the worse the initial reading ability was the greater the observed improvement. 

Better at reading and more polite

Along with improvements in reading, the parents of the children involved in the study also reported an improvement in their children's behavior. The rating scale chosen by the researchers to analyze this was the one normally used to detect ADHD symptoms. Using this method, it was possible to detect, for example, that the children who had received the supplement containing DHA were less hyperactive and less defiant than those who had not taken Omega-3. 

A simple and effective way to help children

Based on their findings, the researchers concluded that taking DHA is a simple and effective way to improve the behavior and reading skills of children who do not have health problems but have difficulty reading. Since children who suffer from this problem run the risk later in life of having problems in both education and work, the authors have already planned to test whether this approach also helps with these issues.

Source

1. Richardson AJ, Burton JR, Sewell RP, Spreckelsen TF, Montgomery P (2012) Docosahexaenoic Acid for Reading, Cognition and Behavior in Children Aged 7-9 Years: A Randomized, Controlled Trial (The DOLAB Study). PLoS ONE 7(9): e43909. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0043909