Young people who suffer physical punishment are more likely to ‘take out’ stress on food

In addition to the physical and emotional impact, adolescents who suffer some type of violence may increase their consumption of foods considered to be of low nutritional quality and decrease their intake of healthy ones. They prefer the ultra-processed, such as cookies, packaged snacks and sweets, and leave fruits and vegetables aside, as shown by a survey by the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ).

The authors evaluated data from more than 100,000 young people from more than 3,000 public and private schools across the country. Among the students, 15.3% reported having suffered some type of physical punishment in the month prior to the interview.

In that group that suffered some kind of punishment, the chance of eating snacks four times a week, for example, was 44% higher. In the case of sweets, this number was 22% higher and, for sugary drinks, 38%. The probability of eating beans and vegetables in the same period fell by 25% and 19%, respectively. More than half of respondents snacked on sweets and salty crackers at least four times a week.

Stress X food

“The preference for this type of food serves to relieve tension, since they are also ‘affective’ foods that report good times, as a way to compensate for sadness”, says nutritionist Emanuele Souza Marques, a professor at UERJ and one of the study leaders.

“These young people suffer a double damage in terms of nutrition, both due to the increase in the consumption of poor quality foods and the drop in the consumption of healthy foods”, he adds.

In addition, stress hormones stimulate the desire for foods rich in fat and sugar: “these foods act on the reward system of the brain”, says nutritionist Thais Abad, from Clínicas Einstein. “Ultra-processed foods are known to be ‘designed’ to be super palatable. Sometimes food is the only escape for this teenager.”

The problem is that these items end up replacing healthy meals. “A person eats a plate of instant noodles at lunchtime and prefers chocolate to fruit for dessert”, exemplifies Abad.

It has been proven that a diet rich in ultra-processed foods is associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, among others. Therefore, the consumption of these items should be minimal.

“Often, adolescents are unable to adhere to a healthy diet or habits and professionals need to investigate other aspects of life in an attempt to understand the reason for their food choices”, says Marques, author of the UERJ study.

The numbers of violence

It is estimated that, each year, half of children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 17 worldwide suffer some type of violence. About 300 million children between the ages of two and four suffer violent punishment.

In addition, a third of adolescents between the ages of 11 and 15 have already felt intimidated by their peers, according to data from a report by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the prevention of child violence published in 2020.