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.
“...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.”
Typical Leftists putting all blame on someone, or something. No personal responsibility. It’s the way of the Leftist. Mrs. RQSR.
Attentive, assertive & active parents with the ability to demonstrate self control, and who also care about the welfare of their children tend to limit their consumption of sugary snacks and sweets.
Parents who let the kids run the house and have little self control tend to let kids eat all the junk they want to...
Which group of parents is going to be more successful at raising well adjusted kids, hmm???
This study is excrement.
My goodness, if only horse sh*t were honey, what a sweet world this would be...
I don’t know about this. My kids get a Mountain Dew and a couple of Pixie Sticks for breakfast every morning and they do just fine.
These kids born in 1970 probably ate carrots too. It’s GOTTA be the carrots.
I have a six year old who we found reacts severely to artificial dyes. The difference in her behavior without them is huge. Even some previously skeptical people have seen the difference when they accidentally gave her stuff with dyes (and we didn’t know about it but wondered when we saw her flipping out.) I wonder how much of the links to “sugar” is actually to “artificial dye” or other unnatural products?
:) :) :) Amen to that.
I do, however, don't think it's the government's business to tell us how or what we must eat! We should make those choices for ourselves and our children based on common sense.
1. We had a neighbor kid who was allergic to red dye. I saw him one day when he had eaten a popsicle. It was like he was on fast-forward— manic zipping around on his scooter, throwing toys, etc. Luckily, the allergy was identified before kindergarten.
2. My daughter has ADD. She actually craves a low-glycemic diet for breakfast on weekdays. She requests a 1/2 avocado, tomato slices and a glass of milk. On weekends, if there is pancakes or doughnuts for breakfast, we are in for some lousy moods and behavior. [I’m grateful to La Leche League for educating me about whole foods, because if she hadn’t had a lot of pure and simple food when she was little, I don’t think she would have known what she was truly hungry for.]
Maybe it’s crapping carrots.
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