THE FUNCTIONAL RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ARTIFICIAL FOOD COLORS AND HYPERACTIVITY

Abstract

Two 8 yr old females, who were on the Feingold K-P diet for a minimum of 11 mo., were the subjects studied. The experimental design was a variation of the BAB design, with double-blind conditions. This design allowed an experimental analysis of the placebo phases as well as challenge phases. Data were obtained by trained observers on out of seat, on task and physically aggressive behaviors, as they occurred in the subjects'' regular class setting. The existence of a functional relationship between the ingestion of artificial food colors and an increase in both the duration and frequency of hyperactive behavior was suggested. The absence of a placebo effect and differential sensitivity of the dependent variables to the challenge effects were also suggested.