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Improper nutrition is a major cause of aggression in children
Last reviewed: 02.07.2025
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At the medical school of one of Australia's largest universities (Deakin University), a group of specialists concluded that addiction to unhealthy food threatens not only obesity, but also mental disorders, especially in childhood. To make such conclusions, specialists analyzed the results of 12 studies, which involved more than 80 thousand children from 4.5 to 18 years old.
During the work, experts studied the results of tests and surveys assessing mental health, frequency of consumption of various products, behavior, successes and difficulties, and diet was also taken into account. As a result, it was established that such conditions as anxiety, depressive states, frequent mood swings were closely associated with unhealthy eating.
Scientists simultaneously assessed the child's mental state and diet, and therefore it is impossible to say for sure whether unhealthy foods provoke mental disorders or, on the contrary, whether the mental state increases the child's craving for unhealthy food. However, experts can confidently say that healthy food increases concentration, improves school performance, helps maintain normal weight, and proper and balanced nutrition in childhood is necessary to strengthen health.
At the same university, a research group of another scientific project stated that a woman's diet during pregnancy affects the child's mental state. Most pregnant women have a strong craving for unhealthy foods. Having observed the health of more than 20 thousand women during pregnancy, and subsequently the health of their children, experts concluded that the future health of the child depends on the mother's diet. Women who ate large amounts of unhealthy food (fast foods, smoked foods, etc.) gave birth to children who subsequently developed some behavioral problems. In such children, specialists noted the appearance of aggression, increased irritability, and other behavioral problems.
In addition, a woman's diet during pregnancy affects the risk of obesity in the child later in life, as shown in one of the earlier studies.
Experts also noted that children who were given mostly unhealthy foods in their first years of life, almost excluding vegetables, showed symptoms of depression, anxiety, and aggression.
Experts recommend finding a replacement for tasty but unhealthy foods that are as nutritious as unhealthy foods. For example, you can include more carrots, celery, cucumbers, apricots, yogurt (fat-free), prunes, figs, milk porridges, unsweetened juices, milk drinks, fruits, potatoes, and legumes in your diet.
In addition, scientists have suggested making tasty and healthy sandwiches by simply adding cheese, salad, mashed sardines, salmon, and lean ham to lavash or bread.
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