Does good nutrition prevent crime?

The Economist refers to

. . . a study carried out by Natural Justice, a British charity, and published in the British Journal of Psychiatry in 2002. Then, 231 volunteers were given either capsules containing their official daily requirements of vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids (such as omega-3s) or placebos. The trial lasted for nine months and during that time the number of offences committed by each prisoner was recorded. Those who received the extra nutrients committed an average of 26.3% fewer offences than those who got the placebo. For violent offences, the reduction was 37%.

Two years later a study in the Netherlands reached similar conclusions. Indeed, the number of disciplinary offences fell by almost half. Supplements were deemed so cost-effective that they would allow prison services to be improved at the same time as saving money.

Another study on a larger number of subjects is being launched in the UK. Could the links between poverty and criminality be the consequence of a poor diet? Could the fact America has the largest portion of its citizens imprisoned be related to observations that many low-income Americans consume diets consisting largely of processed and junk food?*

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Update: Others have noted that some twenty percent of American youngsters live in poverty --The United States has, by far, the highest childhood poverty rate of any rich country. Processed foods may be the only food poor Americans can afford. Parents of poor children in the US are likely to be less educated and more influenced by marketers and advertisers of junk foods.