Supplements of omega-3 and omega-6 may improve the reading skills of the students in general, according to a new study from the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg (Sweden). Reading children with attention problems, in particular, can be improved with the addition of these fatty acids.
The study included 154 children from western Sweden, between nine and ten years old. The kids did a test on the computer (known as the Logos test) that measured their reading skills, including reading speed, the ability to read nonsense words and vocabulary.
The children were randomly assigned to receive either capsules with omega-3 and omega-6, or identical capsules containing a placebo (palm oil) for 3 months. Children, parents and researchers did not know until the study was completed if the children had received fatty acids or placebo. After three months, all children received capsules of omega-3/6 fatty acids for the last three months of the study.
“Even after three months, we could see that the reading skills of children improved with the addition of fatty acids, compared with those receiving placebo. This was particularly evident in the ability to read a nonsense word aloud and pronounce it correctly (phonological decoding), and the ability to read a series of letters quickly (time visual analysis), “says Mats Johnson, chief physician and researcher at the Center for Neuropsychiatry Gillberg at the Sahlgrenska Academy in the press release of the University.
