Mediterranean Living

Mediterranean Living News Update
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Fish oil 'helped children manage anger'

31st October 2006

Children with severe behavioural problems were better able to control their angry outbursts during a six-month trial of fish oil supplements, it was revealed today.

Eaton Hall School in Norwich recorded a 68% reduction in the most extreme type of attack while pupils ate a healthy diet and took eye q fish oil supplements.

The school provides specialist education for boys with severe behavioural, social and emotional difficulties. The trial was carried out on 28 pupils aged 10-16.

During the six months before the trial began, the pupils were involved in 112 incidents of outbursts that required physical management to prevent a child harming themselves or others.

This dropped to 36 during the trial. Three pupils who exhibited the biggest change in behaviour were involved in few or no incidents at all.

Lisa Christensen, Norfolk County Council's director of children's services, said: "This is the first time that a study of this size just on children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties has been carried out.

"It was a unique opportunity because there was already detailed information about individual pupils' behaviour from before the changes in their diet and the introduction of the supplements."

Lianne Quantrill, the project co-ordinator at the school, said: "These statistics suggest that as a result of the new health programme and supplements, the children were able to control their anger better, so while outbursts still occurred, they were less extreme, requiring minimal physical intervention from a teacher."

Headteacher Valerie Moore said: "This was a worthwhile study. For some children it made a positive difference.

"Even if it had only helped one child, it would still have been worthwhile. Within the wide and varied behaviour modification methods we use at Eaton Hall, this was another strategy well worth exploring."