Nutrition and Hyperactivity

The purpose of this research is to examine recent findings relative to the role of nutrition in treating hyperactivity. Background information is provided on (1) hyperactivity, (2) therapies (generally) for the condition, (3) earlier findings related to nutritional therapy for hyperactivity, and (4) recent findings refarding nutrition for treating hyperactivity.

Hyperactivity

Hyperactivity, also known as hyperkinesis, refers most commonly to manifestations of disturbed child behavior (Hinsie, & Campbell, 1980). The hyperactive child (1) performs movements and actions at a higher than normal rate of speed, (2) is constantly restless and in motion, or (3) may exhibit aspects of each of these characteristics (Hinsie, & Campbell, 1980).

The disorder is characterized by overactivity, restlessness, distractibility, and short attention span (Freedman, Kaplan, & Sadock, 1982). Oversensitivity to stimulation makes it impossible for the hyperactive child to attend to more than one stimulus at a time; however, the child is also unable to reject a stimulus (Freedman, Kaplan, & Sadock, 1982). Thus, unable to attend a stimulus long enough to integrate it, the hyperactive child continually returns to the stimulus as if it were new (Freedman, Kaplan, & Sadock, 1982). As an overreaction to a stimuli on an emotional level is not unusual under such conditions, the hyperactive child is frequently labile, impulsive, and accidentpron

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children have been reported since the mid1970s (Conners, Goyette, & Southwick, 1976). The earlier studies in this genre emphasized the link between hyperkinesis and food additives (Harley, Ray, & Tomasi, 1978), and their findings have often been the subject of controversy (Milich, Wolraich, & Lindgren, 1986). Relatively recent changes in diagnostic criteria, however, have led to greater interest in the link between nutrition and hyperactivity in children (Meller, & Yates, 1988). Nutrition for Hyperactivity Treatment, Early Findings Most earlier studies investigating a nutritional link to hyperactivity in children were concerned with specific food products, as opposed to a subject's entire nutritional intake (Kaplan, McNicol, Conte, & Moghadam, 1989). Most of these studies investigated the effects on hyperactivity of either food additives (Wender, 1986; Weiss, Williams, & Margon, 1980; Swanson, & Kinsbourne, 1980), or sweeteners ("Effects", 1988; Kinsbourne, 1984). Two earlier studies investigated the relationship between hyperactivity and the entire nutritional intake of subjects (Harley, Ray, & Tomasi, 1978; Conners, Goyette, & Southwick, 1976). Such studies employ a dietary replacement design (Kaplan, McNi

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