Vitamins and fish oil may help improve behavior in teens, according to a new study. The latest study reveals that kids who take vitamins are better behaved at school than those who don't.
The study involved 196 British teen between the ages of 13 and 16. Participants were split into two groups for the 12-week study. One group received a supplement made up of a combination of vitamins and omega-3s, while the other group received a placebo.
This isn't the first study to link vitamins to better behavior. Previous studies found that omega-3, found in fish like salmon, sardines and tuna, helped improve antisocial behavior in kids with ADHD.
For the current study, researchers collected blood samples from participants to measure changes in levels of vitamins, minerals and omega-3. They also assessed participants' conduct using the Conners disruptive behavior scale.
At the end of the study, researchers found that kids assigned to the supplement group significant increases of vitamins, minerals and omega-3 in their blood samples. These kids were also significant improvements in their behavior.
In contrast, kids assigned to the placebo group behaved worse at the end of the study and exhibited more disruptive behavior like tardiness, rudeness and temper tantrums.
"On the Conners disruptive behavior scale, the group given the active supplements improved, whereas the placebo group worsened," lead researcher Jonathan Tammam and his team wrote in the study.
Researchers also took a closer look at children who were most disruptive, committing at least three or more episodes of disruptive behavior during the study period. Study results revealed that taking the supplement reduced episodes of disruptive behavior by 50 percent.
Researchers said the latest findings suggest that taking vitamins can significantly improve conduct and reduce antisocial behavior in teens.
"When the subjects were split into high and low baseline infringements, the low subset increased their offenses, whereas the high-misbehavior subset appeared to improve after treatment. But it was not possible to determine whether this was merely a statistical artifact. Thus, when assessed using the validated and standardized Conners teacher tests (but less clearly when using school discipline records in a school where misbehavior was infrequent), supplementary nutrition might have a protective effect against worsening behavior," researchers explained.
"Nutrient deficiencies have been implicated in anti-social behavior in schoolchildren; hence, correcting them may improve sociability," they concluded.
The findings were published in the British Journal of Nutrition.
