Fish oil ‘makes children smarter’

Want you child to do better in exams? Well, a daily dose of fish oil could be of help, for a new study has revealed that it makes kids smarter. Yes, researchers in Britain have carried out the study and found that children who take a dose of fish oil supplement on a regular basis could do better in their exams as it boosts their mind power. They have based their findings on an analysis of over 3,000 students in Britain who took fish capsules everyday for a period of six months leading up to their exams. The results were compared with students who weren’t part of the programme.

The researchers found that those who took the fish oil supplements daily actually got two grades higher in their exams, an average of 17.7 points more, than those who did not take the pills. But scientists have dismissed the experiment. “No conclusions can be made about the benefits or otherwise.

Parents who agree to supplementation of their kids may differ with regard to motivate and support their children compared with those that do not. “Making comparisons with a group that did not take supplements introduces selection bias. The conclusions cannot be trusted,” ‘The Daily Telegraph’ quoted Prof Tom Sanders of King’s College, London, as saying. However, Dave Ford of the Durham County Council, which conducted the study, said there’s no plan to continue giving the children with the fish oil capsules now that the donated pills had run out.

He said he had been “upset” by the level of criticism the project had attracted from the scientific community. But, he said the Council had never set out to conduct a scientific experiment.