Many children, and not just those suffering from extreme hyperactive conditions, can become more impulsive, inattentive and hyperactive from the cocktail of artificial additives found in drinks, sweets and processed foods, according to research published in the Lancet.

In the biggest study of its kind, scientists at Southampton University recorded the responses of 153 three-year-olds and 144 eight to nine-year-olds to various drinks and found that artificial food colours and additives were having “deleterious effects”. The youngsters drank a mix that reflected a UK child’s average daily additive intake.

Campaigners have long since warned that E numbers in hundreds of everyday products can affect children’s behaviour. They point to colourings in confectionary, soft drinks, ice cream and cakes aimed specifically at children. These artificial colours may brighten up food and drinks but they have the study provides clear evidence that mixtures of certain food colours and benzoate preservatives can adversely influence the behaviour of children.

The children, chosen as a snapshot of the general population, were all put on additive-free diets. None already suffered from a hyperactivity disorder. Then each day for six weeks, they were given drinks that either contained one of two mixtures of food colours and benzoate preservative or just fruit juice. All the drinks looked and tasted the same. The study builds upon tests conducted on the Isle of Wight in 2002, which were inconclusive about the possible links between additives and hyperactivity. The first mixture was similar to that used in the 2002 study. The second mixture contained the current average daily consumption of food additives by three-year-old and eight to nine-year-old children in the UK.

The FSA is now sending the findings to the European Food Safety Authority, which is currently reviewing the safety of all European Union permitted food colours. Hopefully it will increase pressure on manufacturers to stop using certain food colourings, but there are no plans to call for a ban.

Parents who are confused over what might be bad for their children are left with a simple message: read the label.

A study published in September 2007 reveals a link between a salty diet and high blood pressure. Researchers from the University of London analysed salt intake and blood pressures figures from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey.

The results confirmed that many children are consuming far too much salt. The average four year old eats 4.7 g of salt a day, mainly in processed food. Official advice is for four to six year olds to limit their salt intake to 3g a day. High blood pressure can lead to strokes and damage to the heart, brain, kidneys and eyes. The message once again for parents is to check labels and look for sodium (salt) content, especially on foods, such as breakfast cereals and snacks.

Diesel fumes clog up the arteries and increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes warn researchers. Scientists have found that pollution from cars, lorries, vans and buses triggers a chain reaction in the blood that leads to potentially deadening hardening of the arteries.

The researchers say the findings reinforce earlier advice that people with chronic lung or heart disease should avoid staying outside for long periods when pollution levels are high. The link between pollution and heart disease and stroke has long been known but this new research is the first to explain how the fine diesel particles ‘conspire’ with artery clogging cholesterol to switch on the genes that cause blood vessel inflammation.

Dr Andrew Nel, who led the study at the University of California said, ‘When you add one plus one it normally totals two. But we found that adding diesel particles to cholesterol fat equals three. Their combination creates a dangerous synergy that wreaks cardiovascular havoc far beyond what’s caused by the diesel of cholesterol alone.’

The findings just published in the journal Genome Biology are based on lab studies of human tissues. The scientists compared diesel particles and the bad form of cholesterol in a test tube and added them with cells taken from the inner lining of human blood vessels. A few hours later, DNA tests of the human cells showed that the diesel particles were working in tandem with cholesterol to encourage inflammation of the blood vessels.