Anti-social kids? Feed them omega-3 diet

A new research has pointed to omega-3 as an intervention for childhood behavioral problems.

The study by University of Pennsylvania's Adrian Raine suggests that omega-3, a fatty acid commonly found in fish oil, may have long-term neurodevelopmental effects that ultimately reduce antisocial and aggressive behavior problems in children.

Raine said that they saw children who had poor nutritional status at age 3 were more antisocial and aggressive at 8, 11 and 17, which made them look back at the intervention and see what stood out about the nutritional component. Part of the enrichment was that the children receiving an extra two and a half portions of fish a week.

Omega-3 regulates neurotransmitters, enhances the life of a neuron and increases dendritic branching, but people do not produce it, they can only get it from the environment, Raine added.

The researchers caution that this is still preliminary work in uncovering the role nutrition plays in the link between brain development and antisocial behavior. The changes seen in the one-year period of the experiment may not last, and the results may not be generalizable outside the unique context of Mauritius.

Beyond these caveats, however, there is reason to further examine omega-3's role as a potential early intervention for antisocial behavior.

As a protective factor for reducing behavior problems in children, researcher Liu said, nutrition is a promising option; it is relatively inexpensive and can be easy to manage.

The study is published in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.