MAKEISTEN SYÖNTI LISÄÄ VÄKIVALTAISTA KÄYTTÄYTYMISTÄ

[soijuv]

Aihe ei liity borrelioosiin mutta on sen verran tärkeä että laitan sen sivuillemme. Laajan brittitutkimuksen (2009) mukaan makeisten päivittäinen syöminen lapsena lisää huomattavasti riskiä agressiiviseen käyttäytymiseen aikuisiässä. Myös aiemmissa tutkimuksissa on havaittu dieetin ja käyttäytymisongelmien olevan yhteydessä toisiinsa.

Daily Candy Consumption in Children Linked to Violence in Adulthood
Deborah Brauser

Learn moreOctober 5, 2009 ? Excessive consumption of confectionery (sweets/chocolates) during childhood can increase the likelihood of adult aggression, according to results from a large cohort study published in the October issue of the British Journal of Psychiatry.

In this study, "children who ate confectionery daily at age 10 years were significantly more likely to have been convicted for violence at age 34 years," write Simon C. Moore, PhD, and colleagues from the Violence and Society Research Group and Applied Clinical Research and Public Health in the School of Dentistry at Cardiff University in Wales.

Although past studies have shown a causal effect between diet and behavioral problems, including aggression, this is the first study to look at the long-term effects of childhood diet on adult violence, report the study authors.

In addition, "we think that kids who demand candy every day do not learn to delay gratification, which some think is a feature of violent individuals generally," Dr. Simon told Medscape Psychiatry.

"The main takeaway for clinicians is that small changes early in life can make a profound difference in childhood," he added.

Background

"We've been researching offending behavior in youngsters for a long time and we've found that problem behavior seems to be associated with impulsive risk taking," explained Dr. Simon. "We also noticed that the diets of these youngsters were pretty poor. Coupled with other research suggesting a link between diet and behavior, we decided to look at data to see whether confectionery consumption was linked to adult violence."

The investigators examined data from 17,415 participants in the British Cohort Study born between April 5 and April 11, 1970 in the United Kingdom. That cohort study collected data on health, education, and social and economic status from respondents at varying stages from age 5 to 42 years.

Dr. Simon and his team focused their evaluation on the age 10 wave (when respondents were asked how frequently they consumed confectionery) and the age 34 wave (when self-reported violent offending data were collected). In addition, information on early development, including parenting style, was taken from the age 5 wave.

Consistent Association Found Between Confectionery and Violence

Results showed that 69% of the study participants who were violent by the age of 34 reported that they ate confectionery nearly every day during childhood, whereas only 42% of those who were nonviolent did.

"This association was consistent across all models where ecological, childhood, and other controls were included," write the authors.

Other significant relations between control variables and violence included the child's sex (male) and the parents' attitude toward parenting. Access to motorized transport at 34 years was found to protect against adult violence, whereas living in a rural area at 34 years increased the risk for violence.

"We found the main result quite surprising and interpret it as perhaps evidence that it is the way that confectionery is given to kids rather than the candy itself," said Dr. Simon.

He explained that a plausible mechanism for the link is that persistently using confectionery to control childhood behavior might prevent children from learning to defer gratification, which can lead to more impulsive behaviors. These are both biases that are strongly associated with delinquency.

"Irrespective of the causal mechanism, which warrants further attention, targeting resources at improving childhood diet may improve health and reduce aggression," write the study authors.

"The next step is to better understand how social, psychological, and consumption factors interact to produce problem behavior," concluded Dr. Simon.

This study was supported by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council. The study authors have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

Br J Psychiatry. 2009;195:366-367