Diet quality and physical fighting among youth: A cross-national study
This 2021 study explores the possible link between diet quality and physical fighting during early adolescence. The data analyzed came from the 2005/2006 Health Behaviors of School Children (HBSC) survey. Jackson & Vaughn reveal the 40% increase in physical fighting among youths with lower quality diets, relative to youths with better diets. These school children were also 68% more likely to partake in frequent physical fighting if their diets were low in quality than if their diets were better. This association between diet quality and physical fighting was consistent in 38 of the 40 countries examined and was found to be even stronger among the female sample. The strategy for discouraging physical fighting among adolescents may be to design strategies aimed at enhancing the youths’ diet quality. [NPID: violence, physical fighting, diet quality, youth, adolescence]
Year: 2021
