Physical punishment is a trigger for teenagers to 'take out' stress on food

The study authors evaluated data from more than 100 young people from more than XNUMX public and private schools across the country.

Among students, 15,3% reported having suffered some type of physical punishment in the month before the interview.

In this group that suffered some physical 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 those interviewed snacked on sweets and savory cookies at least four times a week.

Stress x food

“The preference for this type of food serves to relieve tension, as they are also 'affective' foods that refer to good times, as a way of compensating for sadness”, says nutritionist Emanuele Souza Marques, professor at the State University of Rio Grande do Sul. Rio de Janeiro is one of the leaders of the study.  

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

In addition, the Stress hormones stimulate cravings for foods high in fat and sugarA: “These foods act on the brain's reward system”, says nutritionist Thais Abad, from Clínicas Einstein.

“It is known that ultra-processed foods are 'designed' to be super palatable. Sometimes food is this teenager’s only escape,” she emphasizes. The problem is that these items end up replacing healthy meals.

“People eat a plate of instant noodles at lunch and prefer chocolate to fruit for dessert”, explains Abad. 

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

“Often, teenagers are unable to adhere to a healthy diet or habits and professionals need to investigate other aspects of their lives 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, every year, half of children and adolescents between the ages of two and 17 worldwide suffer some type of violence. Around 300 million children between the ages of two and four suffer violent punishment. 

Furthermore, a third of adolescents between the ages of 11 and 15 have felt bullied by their peers, according to data from a World Health Organization (WHO) report on preventing child violence published in 2020. 

Source: Einstein Agency

See also:

“Neither, nor” generation: 12,7 million young people neither studied nor worked in 2021, says IBGE

Despite the drop compared to 2020 – the first year of the pandemic – the number of young people who were neither studying nor employed in 2021 was 12,7 million, which corresponds to 25,8% of people aged 15 to 29. Of this amount, 41,9% were black or brown women, 24,3% black or brown men, 20,5% white women and 12,5% ​​white men. The data comes from the Synthesis of Social Indicators, released this Friday (02) by IBGE.

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