Spring 1976: Food Additives and Hyperkinesia: A Critical Evaluation of the Evidence

spring1976Journal of Learning Disabilities, November 1976 vol.9 no.9 p.560-569

Spring reviewed the few studies available at that time and concluded that there was no “epidemic” of hyperactivity in the 1970s because a particular WISC reading score average was higher in 1974 than it had been in 1949.  Spring admitted the test no longer included “2.5 percent institutionalized mental defectives” which had been included in 1949.  Nevertheless, he said this test refuted the claim by the California Association for Neurologically Handicapped Children that the prevalence of hyperactive children had risen from 2% to 20 – 25%.

Spring claimed the clinical trials available at that time supporting the use of the diet didn’t prove anything

QUOTE:  “It may be that only a small number of hyperactive children, if any, are helped by the diet.”

QUOTE:  “A moratorium on further public advocacy is recommended until the efficacy of the diet for a defined population is firmly established by controlled research.”

NOTE:  It is remarkable that for decades other studies continued to refer to this one as though it were relevant.

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