Behaving Well

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The same Norwegian study cited above suggested that the diet of children may affect their behavior. Children who ate more unhealthy foods, defined in the study as chips, buns, cakes, waffles, chocolate, cookies, sweets, soda, ice cream, popsicles, bread with jam or honey, pizza, and soda with artificial sweeteners, had higher levels of internalizing behaviors such as worry, sadness, crying and anxiety, as well as externalizing behaviors, including aggression, tantrums, hyperactivity and defiant behavior. In comparison, children who ate more traditional or healthy foods, defined as “white fish, oily fish, boiled and raw vegetables, fruit, bread with fish products, eggs, bread with meat, Norwegian brown cheese, and fish products” (could that be cod liver oil?) had lower levels of these problem behaviors (Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2014 Jul 23).

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