Nutrition in youth is critical to IQ

EARLY NUTRITION can significantly influence mental ability later in life, a 16-year study by the Medical Research Council has proved.

Research into premature babies found those who were not given nutrient- enriched formula milk had lower IQs by the age of eight than those who had been given the special milk.

But because "critical" spurts in brain growth takes place between the last three months of pregnancy and age two,researchers conclude their findings could have significance for the nutrition of premature and full-term babies. In a randomised controlled trial, Professor Alan Lucas of the Institute of Child Health fed 424 premature babies a "nutrition enriched" pre-term formula milk or a standard formula for one month after birth.

In the MRC study, it was found that those infants fed the standard formula instead of the nutrient enriched one had reduced verbal IQ at 8 years. The effect was particularly notable in boys.