Today's Tidbit: Stay Off the Twinkies and Become a Better Person

Remember Dan White's "Twinkie defense" in 1979? Well it turns out that the the ability to convert food into glucose is correlated with the ability to control oneself.

According to one study, 90% of those in juvie have below-average glucose levels.

Even more incredible, in Finland, researchers examined convicts about to be released from prison, and based solely on their response to a glucose test, "were able to predict with greater than 80 percent accuracy which convicts would go on to commit violent crimes."

And "other studies reported that people with hypoglycemia were more likely to be convicted of ... traffic violations, public profanity, shoplifting, destruction of property, exhibitionism, public masturbation, embezzlement, arson, spouse abuse, and child abuse."

So, unless you want to find yourself masturbating in public, forgo the Twinkies.

References:

• Willpower, 2011 book by Roy Baumeister & John Tierney, pages 44-6
• "The Physiology of Willpower: Linking Blood Glucose to Self-Control" 2007 article by Matthew T. Gailliot, in Personality and Social Psychology Review 11 (2007): 303-27

Photo by Christian Cable