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

There is mounting concern over the potential harms associated with ultra-processed foods, including poor mental health and antisocial behavior. Cutting-edge research provides an enhanced understanding of biophysiological mechanisms, including microbiome pathways, and invites a historical reexamination of earlier work that investigated the relationship between nutrition and criminal behavior. Here, in this perspective article, we explore how this emergent research casts new light and greater significance on previous key observations.

Citation:
Prescott SL, Logan AC, D’Adamo CR, et al. Nutritional Criminology: Why the Emerging Research on Ultra-Processed Food Matters to Health and Justice. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2024;21(2)

Keywords:
Aggression; behavior; diet; food crime; mental health; microbiome; nutrition; ultra-processed foods

Abstract:
There is mounting concern over the potential harms associated with ultra-processed foods, including poor mental health and antisocial behavior. Cutting-edge research provides an enhanced understanding of biophysiological mechanisms, including microbiome pathways, and invites a historical reexamination of earlier work that investigated the relationship between nutrition and criminal behavior. Here, in this perspective article, we explore how this emergent research casts new light and greater significance on previous key observations.