Children who eat sweets and chocolate on a regular basis are more likely to be convicted of violent crimes as adults, a new study finds. Oh. Well. I guess that explains Bazooka Joe.
Previous studies had reported that anti-social behavior stems in social and environmental factors such as poor parenting and a deprived upbringing; the new study, however, believes offenders have very poor diets.
"There appears to be a link between childhood diet and adult violence, although the nature of the mechanism underlying this association needs further scrutiny," said lead researcher Simon Moore.
Thus justifying more nanny-state laws ...
According to the study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, kids with the worst impulsive behavior have the most terrible diets such as having a Coke and a bag of chips for breakfast.
| Which is not at all the same as having a single Leonidas truffle every day for a week after Daddy gets home from a business trip, or a couple of cookies for an afternoon snack. |
The main reason contributing to the condition is not well recognized; many, however, believe confectionery make adults addicted to certain additives, leading to aggressive behavior in the long run. Others, however, believe rewarding bad behavior in childhood with confectionary is the main cause, adding that instant gratification stops the children from learning how to wait to obtain something, nurturing their impulsive behavior.
| Or it could be as simple as properly fed children knowing that they're loved, and so are willing to learn self-control from parents modelling that behaviour. Also, parents who feed their children inappropriately tend to have other parenting skill lacks, and too often model exactly the behaviour these above researchers decry, so clearly there is a constellation of causes leading to a constellation of undesirable effects. It's a good thing I'm not on the grant committee. |
| Improving the children's diet would certainly be A Good Thing, and definitely would lead to all sorts of improved outcomes, including a reduction of the incidence of rickets and common cold infections. |