Poster Presentation Nutrition Society of Australia 50th Annual Scientific Meeting 2026

A Global Systematic Review of Gender-Based Violence and Dietary Patterns among Adolescents aged 10 to 19 years (145758)

Hoa Hong Nguyen 1 , Le Thi Thuy Dung 1 , Thi Thu Hien Nguyen 1 , Luu Kim Le Hang 1 , Doan Ngoc Xuan 1
  1. Thu Dau Mot University, Phu Loi Ward, HO CHI MINH CITY, VIETNAM., Viet Nam

Violence among adolescents aged 10-19 years is becoming increasingly complex and a serious public health challenge, with three main forms of physical, psychological and sexual violence. A healthy diet is an alternative approach to treating psychological disorders, criminal behaviours and violence. Most previous studies have assessed the role of individual nutrients on violence. However, humans consume multiple foods rather than individual nutrients. To fill the gap, we aimed to conduct a comprehensive global review to identify the relationship between dietary patterns and violence in children aged 10-19 years. This study protocol was registered on PROSPERO (CRD420261388932). Embase, PsycINFO, PubMed, and Google were used to find potential articles on 18th June 2026. We used PRISMA guideline for our review. The ROBIN-E tool was used to assess risk of bias for observational studies. 6/983 were cross-sectional studies, with the risk of bias ranging from some concern to high. Unhealthy dietary patterns had a positive association with social exclusion, psychological/verbal aggression, sexual harassment and property destruction, but not with physical aggression. Healthy dietary patterns were not associated with these violent outcomes. It is the first systematic review assessing the associations between dietary patterns and violent outcomes among adolescents aged 10 to 19 years worldwide. All articles were cross-sectional studies, so they provide weak evidence for these associations. Definitions of healthy and unhealthy dietary patterns were quite similar in terms of common food items, but they were still slightly different in some food components. This may lead to inconsistent results of unhealthy dietary patterns in previous studies. All results came from a cross-sectional study design. Therefore, the effectiveness of dietary patterns in reducing violence among adolescents needs to be confirmed in terms of different violent types, genders, school types, geographic areas and ethnicities. Further research is needed into the causes or barriers related to eating patterns that lead to violence. Specifically, future research may examine the roles of culture, family, and school in eating patterns and violence.

 

  1. Nguyen, H.H., et al., The effectiveness of gender-based violence prevention among adolescents aged 10 to 19 years in Southeast Asia: A systematic review. Int J Equity Health, 2025. 24(1): p. 222. This paper emphasizes three major forms of adolescents' violence, including psychological, sexual and physical violence.
  2. Hoa Hong Nguyen, K.G.T., et al., Students' and adult constituents' perceptions of gender-based violence and feasible prevention programs in high schools in Ho Chi Minh City: A qualitative study. medRxiv, 2025.
  3. Asil, E. and E. Erkmen, Nutrition is associated with violent and criminal behaviors. Curr Nutr Rep, 2025. 14(1): p. 76
  4. World Health Organization. Global accelerated action for the health of adolescents. 2023; Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240081765.