by Jennifer Silverberg, Landmark Consulting, writing for The Wellness Advisory
OK, all you companies selling foods, drinks, supplements that support wellness - here’s a free hint for you: if mothers were aware of the following, do you think it might impact their behavior with respect to your brand?
This research was done in 2002, but a larger study is currently being fielded. This is the kind of science that can start building the bridge between nutrition and performance/behavior/mental health in the consumers’ minds.
Fighting Crime One Bite At A Time: Diet Supplements Cut Violence in Prisons
Source: Psychology Today, March-April, 2003 by Willow Lawson
Does a poor diet lead to crime? Some British researchers think so.
They studied the behavior of 231 inmates at a maximum-security prison in the U.K. Half of the group received daily capsules containing vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids, while the other half took dummy pills. Antisocial behavior among inmates was recorded before and during the trial.
The supplement group broke prison rules 25 percent less than those on the placebo. The greatest reduction was for serious offenses–instances of fighting, assaulting guards or taking hostages dropped 37 percent. There was, however, no significant change in the control group.
Lead scientist Bernard Gesch, a physiology researcher at Oxford University, wasn’t surprised by the findings, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. A former probation officer, Gesch once gave supplements to young delinquents under his watch and noticed an improvement in their behavior. That experience helped shape his later research.
“Nutrition as a causal factor in antisocial behavior is so simple it’s been overlooked,” he says. “We think of behavior completely as a matter of free will.”