Were the effects noticed equally by parents, teachers and health professionals?
No. Significant results were found from all the different types of rating combined, but when each of these groups were considered separately, the impact on children’s behaviour of eliminating AFCs was only significant for the parent ratings. • Were the effects stronger for children who had a rigorous official diagnosis of hyperactivity / ADHD? No. Although the researchers thought that this might be the case (and some previous studies have suggested that ‘hyperactive’ and ‘normal’ children might react differently to chemical additives), the results did not support this hypothesis. DISCUSSION A systematic review of the evidence from controlled trials has shown that the behaviour of hyperactive children does improve when artificial food colourings (AFCs) are eliminated from their diet. These results therefore broadly support the theories first put forward by Feingold in the 1970s (although the full ‘Feingold Diet’ also involved other dietary changes). The mechanism by which AFCs may adver
