In the British Medical Journal experts examined the role of enriched formula milk in later enhanced academic performance by adolescence and found no association.
The findings originated from an investigation of data stemming from seven randomized controlled trials. The trials focused on children’s academic performance in exams at ages 11 and 16.
More than 1,700 adolescents took part in the study, from August 1993 through October 2001.
According to the study’s authors: “No benefit was found for performance in mathematics examinations at age 16 years for any modified formula: nutrient enriched in preterm infants after discharge from hospital.”
“In summary, differences in academic performance between modified and standard formulas were consistent with differences measured in the original trials and in the external literature; that is, no benefit of the infant formula modifications on cognitive outcomes.”
“Evidence from these randomised controlled trials indicated that the infant formula modifications did not promote long term cognitive benefit compared with standard infant formulas,” the authors declared.
