Written by Tatjana Djakovic, Staff Writer. In a study of 1018 adults, consumption of trans fats was statistically significant related to aggression, impatience, and irritability.
Most of us have been warned about the dangers that trans fats impose upon our body, especially that they lower the good cholesterol (HDL) and increase the bad cholesterol (LDL) (1). Trans fats began to be used 20 years ago to enhance product shelf life. However, due to the finding that it is harmful to heart health, in 2006 the FDA required that foods containing trans fats must have labels and warnings. (2) Therefore, avoiding trans fats is necessary for good heart health, but surprisingly, as a new study finds, it is also necessary to avoid trans fats to keep our behavior in check.
This new study consisted of 1018 participants with a minimum age of 20 years who completed a dietary survey. Their behavior was analyzed using the Overt Aggression Scale Modified – aggression (OASMa). The guidelines ensured that the participants were not on lipid medication or had diabetes, HIV, cancer or heart disease. Data was collected by gathering information from participants regarding frequency and portion size for a series of food categories. Trans fat content was calculated using a large nutrition database. The behavior data was collected by using different scales that described recent aggression, life-history of aggression, conflict tactics, impatience and irritability. As in any observational study, it was important to address factors which may impact the overall result and therefore adjustments were made for sex, age, education and use of alcohol or tobacco products. (3)
The result of the study showed that greater consumption of trans fats resulted in significantly higher levels of aggression. Statistical analysis showed that there is a strong association between dietary trans fats and each aggression-related outcome. The relationship was upheld across age and ethnicity data; in fact, for the participants aged 20-60 the p value for the relationship between trans fats and aggression was 0.003 and for those over 60 years old p <0.001. The values indicate a highly significant relationship between trans fats and aggression, because p values of less than 0.05 are considered to be highly significant. (3)
Furthermore, it was suggested that the mechanism for this occurrence is based on the fact that that trans fats inhibit the production of omega-3 fatty acids, which have been shown to reduce aggression. (4) Although observational studies have risk factors that affect the results, the study provides evidence that links dietary trans fats with behavioral irritability and aggression.
Source: Golomb, Beatrice A., Marcella A. Evans, Halbert L. White, and Joel E. Dimsdale. “Trans fat consumption and aggression.” PloS one 7, no. 3 (2012): e32175.
Copyright: © 2012 Golomb et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Click here to read the full text study.
Posted April 4, 2012.
References:
- Trans Fat is Double Trouble for your heart health-see the Mayo Clinic website.
- Trans Fats 101-see the University of Maryland Medical Center website.
- Golomb B, Evans M, White H, Dimsdale J, Trans Fat Consumption and Aggression. Plos One 2012: 7(3): 1-5.
- Hadzi-pavlovic D, Rees A, Heru G, Brotchi H, Gibson N, Parker G. Omega 3 Fatty Acids and Mood Disorders. Am J Psychiatry 2006: 163: 969-978.
