Moving, fidgeting, and acting restless far more than usual — that pattern is what researchers mean when they study hyperactivity in young children. One study tested whether artificial colors and sodium benzoate might contribute to it. Participants received either a placebo drink or an active drink containing five additives: sunset yellow, tartrazine, carmoisine, ponceau 4R, and sodium benzoate. Clinic-based psychological tests showed no significant behavioral difference between the two groups. Parents, however, told a different story — they reported more restless, hyperactive behavior when the additives were present, and calmer behavior once those additives were removed from the diet. Those parent-reported effects appeared across the whole group, not just in children already prone to hyperactivity. Independent experts consider the evidence inconclusive, and the question remains an active area of scientific study.