NCJ Number
119015
Journal
Journal of Orthomolecular Psychiatry Volume: 8 Issue: 4 Dated: (1979) Pages: 222-226
Date Published
1979
Length
5 pages
Annotation
This study was conducted to assess the diets of two groups of juveniles: a group of chronic offenders in the Pierce County or King County, Washington, juvenile justice system and a group of matched controls from a population of moderately to severely behaviorally disordered students in the Tacoma schools system.
Abstract
Data analysis indicates that the delinquent group is receiving considerably more micronutrients and macronutrient than the nonoffender control group. If, however, calculations are made of the amount ofmicronutrients per 1,000 calories for each group, the delinquent group generally consumed 20-25 percent fewer micronutrients per 1,000 calories than the control group, indicating a need to examine the potential malnutrition of overconsumption and under-nutrition of the delinquent group as it relates to their inability to process effectively the calorie intake. Although no definitive cause-and-effect relationship has as yet been demonstrated between criminal behavior and diet, studies of Wurtman et al (1974) indicate that branched amino acids such as valine and isoleucine block the uptake of trytphan and phenylaline at the blood-brain barrier, altering the balance of these neuro-transmitter precursers in the brain, thus potentially altering behavior. The high milk intake of the delinquent group could cause an alteration of the intake of branched versus unbranched amino acides. Research suggested by the findings is proposed. 1 table, 7 references.