STUDY LINKS KIDS AND CANDY TO VIOLENT BEHAVIOR
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Researchers Say Precise Link Between Sweets And Violence Unclear
Reporting
Jim Williams
CBS
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Chicago (CBS) - We know candy is bad for your children's teeth. But
could it also cause bad behavior later in life?
CBS 2's Jim Williams looks at a new study linking kids and sugar to
violent crimes.
Laura Budill had her hands full with her sons, Nathan, 3 and Tyler,
2, at a Lincoln Park playground Tuesday. They were active enough
without sweets; but with sugar?
"Every child is different," said Budill. "For my children, I know
that it causes them to act out in hyperactivity."
So Laura only allows them to have an occasional piece of chocolate
and doesn't keep sweets at home.
A study at Cardiff University in England would suggest she's doing
the right thing.
Researchers found kids who eat a lot of sugar have a greater chance
of becoming violent adults.
The study looked at 17,000 people, born in April of 1970. Nearly 70
percent of those who committed a violent crime as adults said they
ate sugar almost every day as children.
Forty-two percent of those not arrested said they ate sugar daily.
The results cut across economic status. There are skeptics, though.
"To pin it just on one ingredient in candy ... I'm not buying it,"
said Dr. Dan Weissbluth, a Chicago pediatrician.
Weissbluth said there are too many factors that determine whether
someone ends up a criminal.
"There are sweet-tooths out there in the community without any
history of violent crime, so the correlation is tenuous at best," he
said.
Still, Weissbluth, like all physicians, advises parents to make sure
their children have a balanced diet and watch sugar consumption.
Budill gives her sons healthy snacks.
"I tend to lean towards yogurts and cheeses and things like that,"
she said.
The Cardiff University researchers are quick to point out that they
don't know whether there's something in sugar itself that sparks
aggressive behavior or whether children who eat a lot of sweets every
day indicates they're not getting the discipline they need at home.
It could be, the researchers say, those children don't learn impulse
control or how to delay gratification.
More at:
http://cbs2chicago.com/health/study.candy.violence.2.1630602.html
Jai Maharaj, Jyotishi
Om Shanti
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