Junk Food Enthusiasts More Likely to Have Car Crash and Be Convicted of Driving, Study Finds

Junk food lovers are more likely to have a car accident and be convicted of driving, research shows.

People who don’t care about burgers, pizza, and energy drinks have risk-taking genes that make them a bigger nuisance on the road, scientists believe.

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Experts found that people with unhealthy diets had more speeding tickets and had their cars stolen more often.

Tõnis Tokko, University of Tartu in Estonia, said: “Careless people in traffic tend to take risks in other areas of life as well. There may be a biological tendency for this behavior.

The study found that questionable drivers were more likely to have a gene that affects the emotion-controlling hormone serotonin.

The same mutation could make people less concerned about healthy eating, the study presented at the ECNP scientific conference found.

Mr Tokko said: “People who drink energy drinks are twice as likely to speed up as those who don’t drink them as often.

“It may be related to a need for excitement, rather than the drinks themselves being a direct cause of traffic violations.

“Their psychological make-up can cause them to speed up and want to consume more energy drinks or junk food. “