Posted on 04/13/2010 6:29:53 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Researchers Say Precise Link Between Sweets And Violence Unclear
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 bullshit masquerading as science.
So that’s why I’m a serial killer! Who knew???
Guess what is coming.. The same crap they did to cigarettes..
Children of the “candy” corn.
Sounds like another example of grant money needing to fund something with this as the result.
What a waste.
The sad part is tha the PI’s of the study are probably proud and patting themselves on their back.
Let me guess: by “links,” they mean “correlates.”
Sugar is the energy you need to live. Deal with it. It isn't the devil's brew.
Always made me fat, lazy, and a big pussy... (cat)
Oh please. This has come around again. Every hippie parent I knew back in the 70s would declare that her little darling had been driven crazy by somebody waving a cookie under his nose. Actually, he was a brat to begin with because he had never been disciplined, was never expected to sit still and like listen to his mother read to him, was never expected to learn even basic manners such as saying “Thank you,” and was essentially being brought up as a feral child.
Many modern parents have turned their children over to paid child-minders who speak about five words of English (their native languages vary, but the less English they speak, the cheaper they are), and then the parents try to blame the fact that their kids are dysfunctional brats on the fact that they may have consumed a food that had a teaspoon of sugar in it.
BS!!!!
A case in point was one first-grader I had who could not keep still in class. He often got out of his seat, spoke out during class, couldn't concentrate on lessons and had the same kind of “hyperactivity” at home according to his mom. I took note of his lunch he brought most days and it was usually a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on white bread, cookies and kool-aid. I suggested that his mom just try sending a lunch meat sandwich on whole wheat, an apple and milk and to watch his sweets at home as well. He changed almost within a day or two. He could control himself during class, he started to learn and his mom told me she could see the difference as well.
Now, I don't claim to be a doctor or nutritionist, but if that kid could respond like that so quickly with a simple change in diet, I think many more may benefit as well. Besides, we all know what is healthy eating even when we are grownups. How much more so a child who is still developing?
Oh yeah, them guys - whoo hoo, Hey Larry!!! What????
Its not exactly the sugar, its the low blood sugar caused by insulin fluctuations on account of the excess sugar.
Yeah, twenty years from now, the feds will be battling violent gangs of black market chocolate smugglers from Mexico!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.