The notion that "even an unwholesome diet" may have an impact upon the function of the central nervous system has been a recurring theme in the history of medicine and the study of human behavior. In the current issue of Pediatrics, Conners et al.1 present an important exploration of a comtemporary hypothesis regarding this association. Ultimately, their and other studies on the subject may modify our approach to the inefficient school-age child, or, alternatively, such pursuits may form another unfulfilling flirtation in the on-going romance between behaviorists and food faddists. THE POPULATION CONSIDERED In recent years, there has been growing awareness that there exists a population of children whose performance in life is handicapped significantly by intrinsic or constitutional inefficiencies.