Since 1950, there has been a steady increase in mental ill-health across the population. At the same time, there has been a similar steady decline in IQ. There is strong evidence of 'dumbing down' right across society. If this is allowed to continue, it will be the greatest threat to the sustainability of the human race, even greater than the more visible threat of climate change. The Global Mental Health Crisis is a direct result of the fact that, over time, the actual size of our brains is getting smaller. This is a historical fact, but it is entirely reversible with better brain nutrition. This has now reached crisis proportions.
In 2023, the European Brain Council recognised that "Brain Health conditions have become a global health emergency". Back in 1972, Graham Rose wrote in the Sunday Times, "Unless action is taken to care for the nutrition of the brain, we will become a race of morons!'
Authors Michael A Crawford and David E Marsh have both devoted their lives to this vital area of research. This book is their legacy. In painstaking detail, they make the case for reversing the Global Mental Health Crisis. With greater awareness of the problem, its cause, and the solution required to make a change, their message could not be clearer. By reading this book, you will not be able to say, "We didn't realise."
This book may contain complex research and the results of detailed research, but the message is simple and so is the action we all need to take.
We also explain the role of the environment in the evolution of the brain, leading to early Homo sapiens with a brain capacity of over 1,600cc, and explain why it is now only 1,366 cc and mental ill-health is escalating. The concepts in this book have been fifty-one years in the making. They can't wait any longer. There is no more time.
Presented with these incontrovertible facts, it does not need a rocket scientist to work out what will happen if these dumbing-down trends continue! Fortunately, solutions are available which will lead to brighter and healthier children of the future.
Absolutely—here’s a clean, copy-ready version of the review for Amazon, plus a literal transcription in case you need it exactly as it appears on the scroll.
Review:
Shrinking BrainBy world-leading scientist Prof. Michael Crawford, Imperial College LondonIt is with immense admiration that I commend this remarkable work. Shrinking Brain, authored by my distinguished colleague of international repute, represents not merely years of research but a lifetime of thoughtful inquiry into one of the gravest challenges of our age—the impact of malnutrition on the human brain and mind.
In its pages the reader will encounter a penetrating exploration of how maternal and infant malnutrition corrodes the very foundations of human development—causing shrinking of the brain, mental deficiency, learning disorders, and lasting psychiatric consequences.
The prose is at once scientific and humane, weaving rigorous evidence with deep compassion. This is not a mere academic exercise; it is a clarion call to action. Shrinking Brain deserves to be translated into Arabic and Urdu, so that its message can guide physicians, families, and policy makers in all societies where malnutrition remains a silent epidemic.
May this work awaken conscience, inspire reform, and safeguard the most sacred trust of all—the developing mind of the child.
— Prof. Dr. Ahmed Ali-Khan
Vice-Chancellor, Tony Buzan Academy UK
Visiting Professor of Psychiatry
Distinguished Son of Psychiatry — Brain of the Year Award (House of Lords)
Invited Scholar to Buckingham Palace Diversity Lunch by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, to assist in designing roadmaps to address inequalities
