Happy Halloween! Kids who eat candy every day grow up to be violent criminals
Filed under: Healthcare
Quick, hide the candy jar! Feeding your child candy every day could help turn Junior into a violent criminal, according to a large study in Britain, which found that 69 percent of the participants who had committed violence by 34 had eaten sweets or chocolate nearly every day during childhood.For four decades, researchers from Cardiff University in Wales have studied nearly 17,500 participants born in 1970. They learned that 10-year-olds who munched on sweets daily were "significantly more likely" to have been convicted of violent crime by 34 than those who enjoyed candy as an occasional treat, according to the study published in the October British Journal of Psychiatry.
But not all childhood chocoholics had gotten into serious trouble when they got older. Of the participants who hadn't turned out to be violent as adults, some 42 percent had also eaten sweets daily.
Researchers said the study is the first to look at the longterm effects of childhood diet on adult violence. "The link between confectionary consumption and violence," researchers say, remained after controlling for variables like parenting skills and social and economic backgrounds, according to the Associated Press.
Among theories for the apparent disturbing link between high candy consumption and violence, lead researcher Simon Moore found one particularly compelling. "Giving children sweets and chocolate regularly may stop them from learning how to wait to obtain something they want," Moore said in a statement. "Not being able to defer gratification may push them towards more impulsive behavior, which is strongly associated with delinquency."
Needless to say, a spokesman for one of the U.K.'s food industry groups is not amused. "This is either utter nonsense or a very bad April Fool's Day joke!" said Julian Hunt, director of communications at the Food and Drink Federation, on FoodNavigator.com. "Antisocial behavior stems from deep-rooted social and environmental factors such as poor parenting and a deprived upbringing, and is not linked to whether or not you ate sweeties as a kid."
The researchers say they weren't looking to trash candy, and that they need to do more research to confirm any link. "It's not that the sweets themselves are bad," Moore told the AP. "It's more about interpreting how kids make decisions."
But other studies have also suggested a link between nutrition and violence. Pilot studies in Britain have shown that violence in prison can fall by 47 percent when inmates are given vitamins and other nutritional supplements every day, according to The Journal of Life Sciences. To that end, Oxford University researchers are undertaking a three-year nutrition study involving 1,000 young offenders at three institutions in England and Scotland.
The magazine also cites research by Oxford professor Bernard Gesch, who published findings in 2002 in the British Journal of Psychiatry that young offenders who received active capsules of nutrients committed on average 26 percent fewer disciplinary offenses than those taking placebos. For more serious offenders, the reduction was 37 percent. "The law tends to assume that criminal behavior is entirely a matter of free will. But how can you exercise free will without involving your brain, and how can your brain function properly without proper nutrients?" Gesch told the magazine. "The brain is a fatty organ, and our modern diet does not provide enough nutrients for it."
Moore also agrees that better nutrition wouldn't hurt. "Targeting resources at improving children's diet may improve health and reduce aggression," he said. With trick-o-treating season just around the corner, the study may prompt some frightening discussions in some households.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
10-03-2009 @ 2:17PM
Charles Queen said...
I know a lot of people that have lived on sweets and or candy all their lives and about the only bad thing to come of it was surgar problems,heart problems obesety etc but I have never heard of any of them turning to criminal activity
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10-03-2009 @ 10:18AM
ruby said...
Oh Yeah, I can see the headlines now "I'm sorry I killed 10 people and two were infants, it was all those candy bars I ate when I was a child". Not long ago the "New England Journal of Medicine" had a story about candy and children and they said that it had no effect on most kids. Some children are not taught the difference between right and wrong or good and bad as Julian Hunt said. As far as better nutrition, they took pop out of some schools but it's ok to have all that sugary juice. It is stated that more research is needed. Maybe they will choose mashed potatos next because the carbs turn to sugar. Maybe they ate too many mashed potatos. I'm glad it's in England/Wales and not my money they are wasting or is our government funding that also?.
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10-04-2009 @ 11:00AM
L R said...
Ruby - My thought exactly *. Its always some type of *Psycho Babble* * I had 4 popsicles so I had to kill them all. My mother made me eat fries as a child* that*s why I beat their heads in.
The *Ego* has landed.
10-03-2009 @ 10:25AM
Candy Man said...
The news doesn't often show four masked and heavily armed men hitting a candy store and taking hostages.
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10-03-2009 @ 10:26AM
Kevin Taylor said...
As a regular reader of the London Daily Mail, the level of violence in the UK is appalling. Candy is not the cause. The problem is the welfare state, no parental supervision and courts that don't even slap violent juveniles on the rest. There is no accountability for one's actions. However, daily candy consumption certainly explains their teeth.
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10-03-2009 @ 11:16AM
Mark said...
And just how many were exposed to Mothers Milk? We may have a problem.
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10-03-2009 @ 12:11PM
mike said...
DUMEST THING I EVER HEARD....HOW ABOUT TELEVISION EVERYDAY....HOW ABOUT BREATHING AIR EVERYDAY....YOU CAN BLAME ANYTHING EXCEPT THE TRUTH THAT THE PUNKS NEED A KICK IN THE ASS THAT THEY ARE NOT GETTING.... HOW ABOUT STUDY THAT SHOWS WHEN A KID IS DISCIPLINED FOR DOING SOMETHING BAD THEY TURN OUT TO BE BETTER CITEZINS ?
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10-03-2009 @ 1:55PM
jessie said...
hey Mike, you got that right, a spanking was always a deterant for me, and I turned out pretty good
10-03-2009 @ 1:43PM
JACKIE said...
CRAZY!!
WHILE EVERYONE I KNOW THINKS DIFFERENTLY. MY CHILDREN HAVE ALL HAD ACCESS TO A CANDY DISH THE SIZE TO HOLD 25LBS PLUS AND TO EAT FREELY. I HAVE ALWAYS LIVED ON SUGAR STILL DO. DESSERT FIRST THANK YOU. MY KIDS ARE AMAZING VERY KIND LOVING PEOPLE. YOU WOULD LOVE THEM AND BE AMAZED. GOD IS GOOD TO ME.
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10-03-2009 @ 2:09PM
Josh said...
When the hell are we going to stop wasting our time and money and pointless surveys? Seriously, ask someone with a few ounces of common sense. They would've explained that to you. Think about it. What happens when you have too much of a good thing? You become greedy and start behaving ill mannered. If your parents (if you'd call them that) aren't going to do anything to curb your behavior, then obviously it's going to carry onto adulthood in some form or another. Duh!
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10-04-2009 @ 5:57PM
david said...
hello, if it pointless. why are you writing on this site. The witching hour is around the corner. Happy Boo!
And how are you? Big Boy?
10-03-2009 @ 2:15PM
susan said...
Are you kidding me,i think the person who wrote this story maybe the CRIMINAL,Thats the crazyest thing i ever heard.
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10-03-2009 @ 2:19PM
geald kauffman said...
Another example of book smart, common sense dumb people (actually not even book smart) making big money coming up with stupid answers.
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10-03-2009 @ 2:22PM
Charles said...
This is a bunch of "hogwash". I would suggest that children become criminals because that have never been taught moral principles of honesty. They lack any modelling by honest parents and have not been discipled to respect right and wrong or the proper values of their fellowman. The schools I attended taught right from wrong, we read the Biible and learned the 10 caommandments and yes my dad and mom gave me candy or better yet taught me to work so I could buy candy.
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10-03-2009 @ 2:30PM
Gangland Gummi Bears said...
Watch out for more violence from new street gang The Willy Wonkas!
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10-03-2009 @ 2:39PM
James said...
I remember that trial where they used the "Twinkie" defense.
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10-03-2009 @ 2:59PM
my98xlclassic said...
This study proves only one thing :these people have wayyyyyyyyyyy too much time on their hands
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10-03-2009 @ 3:03PM
hank said...
What garbage that study is. It is like the monk saying: "The proof of God existing was that He put a river beside every great city!" Right! How about lousey parenting, no discipline, candy jail sentences for first offenders, lack of community control, drug addiction, etc, etc whatever
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10-03-2009 @ 3:25PM
bill said...
Shut up. Just shut up
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10-03-2009 @ 10:03PM
lelah1972 said...
I think you said it best!