Children with developing nervous systems might be at greater risk for any potential neurobehavioral effects of color additives widespread in many foods. This study thus examined whether children consumed foods containing color additives more frequently than adults. Twenty-one adults (aged 18-60) and parents of 14 children (aged 4-7) with regular eating patterns kept detailed food records for five days. Diets were analyzed for foods containing the dyes Red #3, Red #40, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Blue #1, Blue #2 and Green #3 by comparing ingredient labels found in grocery stores and online. The number of daily dye exposures was significantly (P<0.001) greater for children (2.43 ± 0.35 exposures) than for adults (0.76 ± 0.15 exposures). Fruit and vegetable consumption was inversely correlated (- 0.63) to the number of dye exposures per day in children but not in adults (0.18). Children habitually consume more brightly colored foods with additives in lieu of nutrient dense foods.
","abstract_html":"<p>Children with developing nervous systems might be at greater risk for any potential neurobehavioral effects of color additives widespread in many foods. This study thus examined whether children consumed foods containing color additives more frequently than adults. Twenty-one adults (aged 18-60) and parents of 14 children (aged 4-7) with regular eating patterns kept detailed food records for five days. Diets were analyzed for foods containing the dyes Red #3, Red #40, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Blue #1, Blue #2 and Green #3 by comparing ingredient labels found in grocery stores and online. The number of daily dye exposures was significantly (P<0.001) greater for children (2.43 ± 0.35 exposures) than for adults (0.76 ± 0.15 exposures). Fruit and vegetable consumption was inversely correlated (- 0.63) to the number of dye exposures per day in children but not in adults (0.18). Children habitually consume more brightly colored foods with additives in lieu of nutrient dense foods.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Bell, Carol Christine"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science (MS)","degree_level":"Open Access Thesis","degree_discipline":"Health Sciences","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Anahita Mistry, PhD, Committee Chair","Judi Brooks, PhD RD"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-03-14T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-03-14T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:51Z","subjects":["children","diet","food dyes","development","Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://commons.emich.edu/theses/468","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Anahita Mistry, PhD, Committee Chair","Judi Brooks, PhD RD"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Bell, Carol Christine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-06-20T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Health Sciences"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science (MS)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["children","diet","food dyes","development","Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/468"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Children with developing nervous systems might be at greater risk for any potential neurobehavioral effects of color additives widespread in many foods. This study thus examined whether children consumed foods containing color additives more frequently than adults. Twenty-one adults (aged 18-60) and parents of 14 children (aged 4-7) with regular eating patterns kept detailed food records for five days. Diets were analyzed for foods containing the dyes Red #3, Red #40, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Blue #1, Blue #2 and Green #3 by comparing ingredient labels found in grocery stores and online. The number of daily dye exposures was significantly (P<0.001) greater for children (2.43 ± 0.35 exposures) than for adults (0.76 ± 0.15 exposures). Fruit and vegetable consumption was inversely correlated (- 0.63) to the number of dye exposures per day in children but not in adults (0.18). Children habitually consume more brightly colored foods with additives in lieu of nutrient dense foods.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["A comparison of daily consumption of artificial dye-containing foods by american children and adults"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Anahita Mistry, PhD, Committee Chair","Judi Brooks, PhD RD"],"dc:creator":["Bell, Carol Christine"],"dc:date.available":["2013-06-20T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Children with developing nervous systems might be at greater risk for any potential neurobehavioral effects of color additives widespread in many foods. This study thus examined whether children consumed foods containing color additives more frequently than adults. Twenty-one adults (aged 18-60) and parents of 14 children (aged 4-7) with regular eating patterns kept detailed food records for five days. Diets were analyzed for foods containing the dyes Red #3, Red #40, Yellow #5, Yellow #6, Blue #1, Blue #2 and Green #3 by comparing ingredient labels found in grocery stores and online. The number of daily dye exposures was significantly (P<0.001) greater for children (2.43 ± 0.35 exposures) than for adults (0.76 ± 0.15 exposures). Fruit and vegetable consumption was inversely correlated (- 0.63) to the number of dye exposures per day in children but not in adults (0.18). Children habitually consume more brightly colored foods with additives in lieu of nutrient dense foods.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://commons.emich.edu/theses/468"],"dc:subject":["children","diet","food dyes","development","Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition"],"dc:title":["A comparison of daily consumption of artificial dye-containing foods by american children and adults"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Health Sciences"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science (MS)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:16:51Z"}