The mediating effect of dietary patterns on the association between mother’s education level and the physical aggression of five-year-old children: a population-based cohort study

Abstract

Background: Relatively few studies have investigated the effects of diet on behavior problems among preschoolers, particularly, physical aggression. In addition, children raised by poorly educated mothers usually have a higher probability of developing negative outcomes. Additionally, highly educated mothers have a higher probability of providing more healthy foods for their children. Thus, mothers providing healthy foods might mitigate children's behavior problems. The study aims to examine whether preschoolers' dietary pattern, as a manipulable factor, mediates the association between maternal education level and physical aggression. Methods: Data came from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS), a nationally representative population-based cohort study, which included 18,513 five-year-old Taiwanese children. Mothers and primary caregivers reported the information on preschoolers' physical aggression and food consumption at age 5 and maternal education level at age 6 months. Two dietary patterns, namely a healthy diet and a high-fat-sugar-salt (HFSS) diet, were retrieved by exploratory factor analysis. Mediation hypotheses were tested by a series of multiple regression models conducted using the PROCESS macro of SAS 9.4. All models were adjusted for children's sex, parental marital status, household income, mental distress at age 5 and children's physical aggression at age 3. Results: Maternal education positively linked to healthy dietary patterns (B = 0.014, p = 0.002) which was negatively associated with preschoolers' physical aggression (B =-0.096, p = 0.013), and it is negatively related to the HFSS dietary pattern (B =-0.042, p = 0.002) which was directly positively associated with preschoolers' physical aggression (B = 0.123, p = 0.008). The association between maternal education and preschoolers' physical aggression was partially mediated by preschoolers' healthy (B =-0.001, p < .001) and HFSS (B =-0.005, p = <.001) dietary patterns, respectively. The R-square of the mediation model is 0.178.

How Diet Impacts the Relationship between Intimate Partner Aggression and Child Conduct Problems

“…The mediation effect of diet on maternal education and child physical aggression was partial, highlighting that diet partially impacts the relationship between maternal education and child behaviour. While both Wu et al (2020) and the current study focused on a strength-based approach on how 'healthy' diet might impact behaviour, in conjunction with an environmental factor, the current study found that child diet did not buffer the effects of IPA on child behaviour. However, Wu et al (2020) found that child diet mediated the relationship between maternal education and child behaviour.…”

“…Research by Wu et al (2020) looked at whether child diet could mediate the relationship between maternal education and childhood aggression. There was a direct relationship between dietary patterns and aggression, highlighting the importance of encouraging a 'healthy' dietary pattern and avoiding an 'unhealthy' dietary pattern.…”

“…A study related to the current one is by Wu et al (2020), which explores the mediation effect of child diet at age five on the relationship between an environmental factor of maternal education and child behaviour, specifically children's aggression. It is first highlighted that high maternal education is conducive with a child's healthier dietary pattern and lower levels of physical aggression.…”

Nutritional Criminology: Why the Emerging Research on Ultra-Processed Food Matters to Health and Justice

“…Part of this discourse has included emerging evidence pointing toward the addictive potential of ultra-processed foods [19][20][21]. Less attention has been paid to the growing relevance the nutrition sciences have to the behavioral sciences-research linking ultra-processed foods to mental disorders and various neuropsychiatric outcomes, including depression, anxiety [22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30], and antisocial and/or aggressive behavior [31][32][33][34][35][36][37] (Figure 1). The extent to which industry is responsible for promoting noncommunicable diseases, including mental disorders and addiction to ultra-processed food-like products, is described by criminal justice researchers under the banner of 'food crime' [38,39].…”

Beyond Plants: The Ultra-Processing of Global Diets Is Harming the Health of People, Places, and Planet

“…It is our contention that the sense of urgency to "radically transform" global food systems [21,22] for the "great protein transition" to plant-derived sources [22] has unwittingly facilitated the emergence of ultra-processed foods and novel commercial products that include ingredients that may compromise health. Considering the emerging evidence that these ultra-processed food dietary patterns (including macronutrients, micronutrients, and dietary additives) impact neuropsychiatric outcomes [23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34], we approach our discussion from the perspective of mental health. At the outset, we underscore that throughout human history, various forms of food processing have been an essential contributor to human welfare, and there is little doubt that solutions to the problems of over/undernutrition, within the context of sustainability, will involve the expertise and cooperation of the food industry [35,36].…”