Sweet kids can turn violent, study claims

LONDON–Children who eat candy and chocolate every day are more likely to be arrested for violent behaviour as adults, according to new research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry.

British experts studied more than 17,000 children born in 1970 for about four decades and found that 10-year-olds who ate candy daily were significantly more likely to have been convicted for violence by age 34.

Of the children who ate candies or chocolates daily when they were 10 years old, 69 per cent were later arrested for a violent offence.

Researchers say the link between candy consumption and violence remained after controlling for other factors that trigger violence. Simon Moore of the University of Cardiff, one of the paper's authors, said parents who consistently bribe their children into good behaviour with candies and chocolates could be doing harm. That might prevent kids from learning how to defer gratification, leading to impulsive behaviour and violence