Nutrition’s Route to Behaviour and Vice Versa: Longitudinal Links from Early Life to Adolescence

Abstract

Impulsivity is related to, e.g., neurological abnormalities and reduced academic skills. Inhibitory control, an integral part of cognition, is necessary to control impulsive behaviour. Nutrition and gut bacteria may be important for the development of inhibitory control, assuming that nutrition can influence the development of inhibition via the gut bacteria. Specifically, breastfeeding duration and the sugars in mothers milk were investigated. Additionally, because nutrition is important for immune system development, brain development and more, it was investigated what predicts healthy nutritional intake in adolescence (critical phase for healthy nutritional behaviour). Because maternal caregiving behaviour predicts several child developmental outcomes, caregiving behaviour may predict both adolescent nutritional behaviours and impulsive behaviour. This thesis presents evidence that longer breastfeeding duration predicts higher nutritional quality in toddlerhood, specific milk sugars and certain gut bacteria predict better cognitive skills in toddlerhood, and better inhibitory control and higher diet quality in adolescence are linked.