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NutritionKeytoAggressiveBehavior|USCNews

NutritionKeytoAggressiveBehavior
BYUsha Sutliff [/author/usha-sutliff/]

NOVEMBER16,2004

Malnutritioninthefirstfewyearsoflifeleadstoantisocialand
aggressivebehaviorthroughoutchildhoodandlateadolescence,
accordingtoanewUSCstudy.
Thesearethefirstfindingstoshowthatmalnutritioninthe
earlypostnatalyearsisassociatedwithbehaviorproblems
throughage17,saidJianghongLiu,apostdoctoralfellowwith
USCsSocialScienceResearchInstituteandtheleadauthorof
thestudypublishedintheAmericanJournalofPsychiatrys
Novemberissue.
Identifyingtheearlyriskfactorsforthisbehaviorinchildhood
andadolescenceisanimportantfirststepfordeveloping
successfulpreventionprogramsforadultviolence,shesaid.

Theres more to antisocial behavior

than nutrition, but we argue that it is
an important missing link, said Adrian
Raine, a coauthor of the study.
Photo/Usha Sutliff

For14years,researchersfollowedthenutritional,behavioraland
cognitivedevelopmentofmorethan1,000childrenwholivedonMauritius,anislandinthe
IndianOceanoffthecoastofAfrica.
ThesampleofboysandgirlsincludedchildrenwithIndian,Creole,Chinese,EnglishandFrench
ethnicities.
Researchersassessedtheirnutritionatage3,lookingforfourindicatorsinparticular:
angularstomatitis,orcrackinginthelipsandcornersofthemouththatiscausedbya
deficiencyoftheBvitaminriboflavin
hairdyspigmentation,aconditionfoundprimarilyintropicalregionswherechildrens
hairtakesonareddishorangecolorduetoproteindeficiency
sparse,thinhaircreatedbyadeficiencyinprotein,zincandironand
anemia,whichreflectsirondeficiency.
Thechildrensintelligencelevelandcognitiveabilitywerealsotested,andsocialworkersvisited
theirhomestocomeupwithasocalledadversityscorethatsummarizedfactorssuchasthe

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income,occupation,health,ageandeducationlevelsoftheirparentsandtheiroverallliving
conditions.
Atages8,11and17years,theresearcherslookedathowthechildrenwerebehavinginschooland
athome.
Atage8,teachersgavefeedbackaboutwhetherthesubjectswereactingoutinschoolwith
behaviorrangingfromirritabilitytopickingfightswithotherchildren.
Atage11,thefeedbackcamefromparentswhotoldresearchersaboutwhethertheirchildrenlied,
cheated,gotintofights,bulliedothers,destroyedpropertyorusedobscenelanguage.
Atage17,bothparentsandteachersreportedonantisocialbehaviorsuchasstealing,druguse,
destroyingpropertyorbeingdeliberatelycrueltoothers.
Overtime,alinkbecameevidentbetweenmalnourishmentandantisocialoraggressivebehavior,
saidAdrianRaine,acoauthorofthestudyandholderoftheRobertGrandfordWright
ProfessorshipinPsychologyinUSCsCollegeofLetters,ArtsandSciences.
Comparedtothoseinthecontrolgroupthegroupthatdidnotsufferfromnutritional
deficienciesmalnourishedchildrenshoweda41percentincreaseinaggressionatage8,a10
percentincreaseinaggressionanddelinquencyatage11anda51percentincreaseinviolentand
antisocialbehavioratage17.
Whilesocialclassdidnotplayasignificantfactorinbehavior,intelligenceleveldid,Rainesaid.
Poornutrition,characterizedbyzinc,iron,vitaminBandproteindeficiencies,leadstolowIQ,
whichleadstolaterantisocialbehavior,hesaid.Theseareallnutrientslinkedtobrain
development.
Researchersalsofoundthatthemoreindicatorsofmalnutritiontherewere,thegreaterthe
antisocialbehavior.
ThefindingshaveimplicationsfortheUnitedStates,Rainesaid,where7percentoftoddlers
sufferfromirondeficiency,anumberthatjumpstobetween9percentand16percentin
adolescentandfemalegroups.
Irondeficiencyisbetween19percentand22percentinblackandMexicanAmericanfemales,he
said.
ThisisaprobleminAmerica.ItsnotjustaprobleminthefarawayIndianOcean,Rainesaid.
Ifitscausal,theresaninterventionimplicationthere.Atasocietallevel,shouldparentsbe
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thinkingmoreaboutwhatkidsareeating?
Thestudyalsocastsantisocialbehaviorinalightwhereitmaybepreventable.
Theresmoretoantisocialbehaviorthannutrition,butwearguethatitisanimportantmissing
link,Rainesaid.Biologyisnotdestiny.Wecanchangethebiologicaldispositiontoantisocial
andaggressivebehavior.
TheotherauthorswereSarnoffA.Mednick,aprofessorofpsychologyinUSCCollegeanddirector
oftheUSCSocialScienceResearchInstitute,andPeterH.Venables,aprofessorofpsychologyat
theUniversityofYork,England.

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