Nutrition and Crime

Ji Yoon Chung

In the past, the majority of research on crime tended to focus on social factors, such as socioeconomic status, or home environment. However, as criminologists and other researchers began to recognize the enormously complex nature of the causes of crime, other factors—including biological—became increasingly important to study and explore. Nutrition is one of those factors that fairly recently began to receive attention as a contributing factor to crime and violence. Scientific studies are suggesting an intriguing link between nutrition and antisocial behavior. Early signs of malnutrition correlate with increased antisocial and aggressive behavior, while nutritional interventions have been shown to alleviate antisocial behavior. More in-depth research would especially be helpful for developing new interventions to reduce antisocial behavior and crime. There are many popular myths—some right, some wrong—about how food can affect one's behavior. One example is the infamous “Twinkie Defense” originated from the trial of Dan White for the ...

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