Early diet may shape how the teenage brain develops, Swansea review finds
The study brings together findings to examine how diet affects cognitive performance and academic outcomes in young people aged 8 to 19
A major new review led by Swansea University has highlighted growing evidence that diet in the early years of life may shape how well the brain develops, with effects that can still be seen in adolescence.
The study brings together findings to examine how diet affects cognitive performance and academic outcomes in young people aged 8 to 19.
The review found that unhealthy dietary patterns in the early years of life, particularly in infancy, may have lasting consequences for intelligence in adolescence.
Professor Hayley Young, from Swansea University’s School of Psychology and lead author of the study, said:
“What stands out most clearly is that the foundations of cognitive health appear to be laid very early. A poorer diet in the first years of life was linked to lower intelligence years later, in adolescence, even after accounting for many other influences. The picture during adolescence itself is more mixed: some interventions show promise, but the evidence is far from settled. That is exactly why we need better-designed studies, so we can establish whether adolescence is a genuine second window of opportunity to support the developing brain through nutrition, rather than assuming it is.”
After infancy, adolescence represents a second key period of neuroplasticity, marked by widespread structural and functional changes driven in part by hormonal and endocrine shifts during puberty.
To reflect how brain development unfolds over time, the review draws on longitudinal studies exploring links between early-life diet and later cognitive and academic performance. This life-course approach recognises that later abilities build on earlier developmental milestones, allowing the team to examine how early nutrition may shape outcomes years later.
The researchers assessed long-term evidence on a wide range of nutrients and dietary components, including iron, iodine, choline, vitamin D, polyphenols, fatty acids, grains and multi-nutrient interventions.