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Malnutrition in childhood makes people aggressive
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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American researchers have made unexpected conclusions – nutrition in childhood affects a person’s behavior in the future. As scientists have found out, malnutrition in children provokes outbursts of uncontrollable aggression in adulthood.
The researchers set out to find out whether diet, alcohol consumption, etc. influence a person's health and behavior, and the survey showed a clear link between childhood malnutrition and aggression.
The volunteers who took part in the survey told the scientists about their diet in childhood, assessed their emotional state at present, noted whether they had problems controlling their own emotions and whether they had to use violence against other people and whether this happened consciously.
As a result, having analyzed the participants' responses, the researchers found that bouts of uncontrollable anger occur mainly in those who, for some reason, were starved in childhood. Of those who ate relatively well, only 15% showed aggression at least once in their lives, while among the participants who were "malnourished" in childhood, about 40% were subject to uncontrollable bouts of aggression.
Based on the findings, the scientists are calling on governments of all countries to pay special attention to children's diets and eliminate cases of starvation or malnutrition. This, according to the scientists, will help reduce cases of aggressive behavior among citizens in the future.
Research on the impact of poor nutrition on health has been conducted repeatedly, earlier scientists found that an unbalanced diet not only undermines the health of the younger generation, but also affects the ability to learn. Scientists noted that such children find it harder to acquire new knowledge, they master new subjects worse.
The researchers stressed that solving the problem of hunger on the planet is a key point in resolving the issue of armed conflicts and reducing global tensions.
Scientists have repeatedly said that health, both mental and physical, depends on lifestyle in childhood. For example, one study found that emotional abuse of children provokes migraine attacks. On average, over 7 years in the US, more than 5 million children are subjected to cruel treatment by parents, guardians, etc. Scientists have found that 15% of US citizens are subject to severe migraine attacks (this disease is in 5th place in terms of requests for help from specialists).
Researchers have found that there is a link between childhood abuse and the development of migraines - scientists interviewed and analyzed the health of volunteers aged 50 to 56 and found that in half of the cases, participants who suffered from emotional abuse from adults in childhood were prone to migraine attacks as adults. If a child suffered from physical, emotional or sexual abuse in early childhood, he or she is more likely to develop migraines in the future, and such children are more likely to suffer from depressive disorders and anxiety as adults.
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