Sin embargo, a new evaluation by Nutrimedia has examined the existing scientific evidence on the widespread belief that «a fish-rich diet enhances intelligence in children and adolescents» and concludes that this idea is possibly false.
Nutrimedia, an educational project of the Ibero-American Cochrane Center and Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona, has evaluated over 50 messages related to food and nutrition, with data from clinical trials in children and adolescents aged 0 to 15 years indicating, with a low level of certainty, that consuming at least two servings of fish per week has little or no effect on intelligence test scores.
«Observational studies do show a slight improvement in intelligence test scores and school grades in children aged 9 to 15, with follow-ups ranging from one to three years, but these results have a very low level of certainty and are very unreliable due to various deficiencies in the studies,» points out Paula González-Caicedo, researcher at the Ibero-American Cochrane Center and lead author of the evaluation.
The evidence on which this evaluation is based is mainly from data from five recent clinical trials, conducted with nearly a thousand children and adolescents, but it is limited, as among other things, the studies lasted only a few months.
Therefore, «the conclusion of this evaluation is necessarily provisional,» highlights Javier Brachiglione, researcher at the Ibero-American Cochrane Center and co-author of the evaluation. «Furthermore, fish consumption could have beneficial effects on other aspects of brain development, such as socio-emotional skills and motor skills, among others,» he adds.
Another point emphasized by the report’s authors is that a comprehensive evaluation of the impact of fish consumption should also consider the potential risks arising from the presence of contaminants in the water, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, mercury, or certain antibiotics.
«To assess the effects of fish consumption during childhood and adolescence in a balanced manner, it would be necessary to consider all these aspects together, both the potentially beneficial and the harmful ones,» adds Javier Brachiglione.