Nutrition and Cognition in Indian Children

Nutritional deficiencies are a major problem in school children in India and have a variety of adverse effects on their cognitive development and growth, and increase susceptibility to infections. There is strong evidence for beneficial effects of iodine, iron and protein-energy on cognitive development in children, while evidence for vitamin B6, vitamin B12, folate, zinc and, omega-3 fatty acids and in particular docosahexanoic acid (DHA) is limited and inconclusive. A randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled 2x2 factorial design will be conducted to assess the effect of a micronutrient with or without omega-3 fatty acids on cognitive development and performance and other selected outcome variables such as growth, morbidity and immune response in children of 7-9 years of age in India.