Toddler diet linked to behaviour -- Eat well young, behave well later

HuckleB

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Mon Nov-29-04 09:50 PM
Original message

Toddler diet linked to behaviour -- Eat well young, behave well later

http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200wales/tm_objectid=14906038&method=full&siteid=50082&headline=toddler-diet-linked-to-behaviour-name_page.html

Toddler diet linked to behaviour

CHILDREN are what they eat at age three, claim researchers. Scientists have discovered that diets lacking in essential nutrients are the missing link in the puzzle about why some children become aggressive as they grow up. It means children's anti-social behaviour may have more to do with their diet than a disaffected youth.

The University of Southern California has identified zinc, iron and Vitamin B as essential nutrients for good behaviour. And they also believe diets lacking protein during a child's first three years of life are responsible for later bad behaviour.

They found that: At eight years old, children fed poorly in their first three years of life, were more likely to be irritable and pick fights than those fed healthily; At the age of 11, they swore, cheated and got into fights; At 17, they stole, bullied others and took drugs.

Welsh experts said the research highlights the importance certain essential nutrients - such as iron - play in the development of children, but they questioned whether diet alone was the only factor causing bad and anti-social behaviour.

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I guess I just had to get this one out on the frontlines. I think it's kind of important, even though it has received virtually no press coverage.

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JerseygirlCT

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Mon Nov-29-04 09:52 PM
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1. Wow...

now I'm thinking back to what they ate... did I get enough broccolli into them?

This is very interesting. Wonder if a good deal of problems could be dealt with if we'd just work on hunger and malnutrition issues up front?

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fortyfeetunder

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Mon Nov-29-04 09:53 PM
Response to Reply #1

2. Which reminds me

We once had a president who hated broccoli....

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HuckleB

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Mon Nov-29-04 09:57 PM
Response to Reply #2

4. Yes. That thought made me laugh the whole time I read the piece.

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ret5hd

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Mon Nov-29-04 09:54 PM
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3. it makes sense on a evolutionary level...

( i guess)...

why wouldn't an animal be pre-wired to be more agressive if food was in short supply and/or of poor quality?

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Lydia Leftcoast

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Mon Nov-29-04 09:59 PM
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5. Another possibility

Parents who don't feed their children properly (and this is not necessarily a socio-economic matter, more a matter of the parents not having their act together if the family is affluent) are also less likely than others to monitor and correct their behavior.

The kind of flaky parent who doesn't provide regular meals and just says, "Oh, go have some cereal if you're hungry" is also the type who doesn't prevent a child from beating up on other children.

The nutritional and behavioral factors probably work together.

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havocmom

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Mon Nov-29-04 10:10 PM
Response to Reply #5

7. Lydia Leftcoast nailed it!

It does come down to parenting. Good parenting includes providing nutritious, balanced diet AND being with the kids to raise them. Lots of people just do not take the time to actually raise/teach their kids. No wonder schools are sort of dealing with Lord of the Flies with life imitating art.

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salvorhardin

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Mon Nov-29-04 10:23 PM
Response to Reply #5

9. Right.

The mantra to repeat when reading any of these health articles is, "correlation does not equal causation."

This is not saying the research is bad. I'm just saying that in excess of 90% of all science reporting is complete and utter crap... and you know I'm right because 3 out of 4 dentists who chew gum agree.

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SarahB

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Mon Nov-29-04 10:00 PM
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6. I just read an article related to brain development.

I'd assume it would apply even more to children. Essentially, it has to do with the type of fat in your diet and brain function. Apparently those with diets rich in fats like olive oil, fish and nut oils actually "thought" at a quicker pace than those for whom trans fats represented the bulk of the fat intake in their diets.

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AnIndependentTexan

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Mon Nov-29-04 10:13 PM
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8. That is just blaming Chimp's parents for his bad behavior

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HuckleB

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Mon Nov-29-04 10:34 PM
Response to Reply #8

10. Indeed it is.

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