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A Prospective Study of Diet Quality and Mental Health in Adolescents

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Listed:
  • Felice N Jacka
  • Peter J Kremer
  • Michael Berk
  • Andrea M de Silva-Sanigorski
  • Marjorie Moodie
  • Eva R Leslie
  • Julie A Pasco
  • Boyd A Swinburn

Abstract

Objectives: A number of cross-sectional and prospective studies have now been published demonstrating inverse relationships between diet quality and the common mental disorders in adults. However, there are no existing prospective studies of this association in adolescents, the onset period of most disorders, limiting inferences regarding possible causal relationships. Methods: In this study, 3040 Australian adolescents, aged 11–18 years at baseline, were measured in 2005–6 and 2007–8. Information on diet and mental health was collected by self-report and anthropometric data by trained researchers. Results: There were cross-sectional, dose response relationships identified between measures of both healthy (positive) and unhealthy (inverse) diets and scores on the emotional subscale of the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL), where higher scores mean better mental health, before and after adjustments for age, gender, socio-economic status, dieting behaviours, body mass index and physical activity. Higher healthy diet scores at baseline also predicted higher PedsQL scores at follow-up, while higher unhealthy diet scores at baseline predicted lower PedsQL scores at follow-up. Improvements in diet quality were mirrored by improvements in mental health over the follow-up period, while deteriorating diet quality was associated with poorer psychological functioning. Finally, results did not support the reverse causality hypothesis. Conclusion: This study highlights the importance of diet in adolescence and its potential role in modifying mental health over the life course. Given that the majority of common mental health problems first manifest in adolescence, intervention studies are now required to test the effectiveness of preventing the common mental disorders through dietary modification.

Suggested Citation

  • Felice N Jacka & Peter J Kremer & Michael Berk & Andrea M de Silva-Sanigorski & Marjorie Moodie & Eva R Leslie & Julie A Pasco & Boyd A Swinburn, 2011. "A Prospective Study of Diet Quality and Mental Health in Adolescents," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 6(9), pages 1-7, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pone00:0024805
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0024805
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Greger, J.L. & Etnyre, G.M., 1978. "Validity of 24-hour dietary recalls by adolescent females," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 68(1), pages 70-72.
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    Cited by:

    1. Felice N Jacka & Nicolas Cherbuin & Kaarin J Anstey & Peter Butterworth, 2014. "Dietary Patterns and Depressive Symptoms over Time: Examining the Relationships with Socioeconomic Position, Health Behaviours and Cardiovascular Risk," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(1), pages 1-9, January.
    2. Lalji, Chitwan & Pakrashi, Debayan & Smyth, Russell, 2018. "Can eating five fruit and veg a day really keep the doctor away?," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 320-330.
    3. Fumarco, Luca & Hartmann, Sven A. & Principe, Francesco, 2024. "A Neglected Determinant of Eating Behaviors: Relative Age," IZA Discussion Papers 16920, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    4. Alwin D'Souza & Ashok K. Mishra & Stefan Hirsch, 2020. "Enhancing food security through diet quality: The role of nonfarm work in rural India," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(1), pages 95-110, January.
    5. Mulusew G Jebena & David Lindstrom & Tefera Belachew & Craig Hadley & Carl Lachat & Roos Verstraeten & Nathalie De Cock & Patrick Kolsteren, 2016. "Food Insecurity and Common Mental Disorders among Ethiopian Youth: Structural Equation Modeling," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 11(11), pages 1-20, November.
    6. Dina Zota & Archontoula Dalma & Athanassios Petralias & Anastasia Lykou & Christina-Maria Kastorini & Mary Yannakoulia & Pania Karnaki & Katerina Belogianni & Afroditi Veloudaki & Elena Riza & Rhea Ma, 2016. "Promotion of healthy nutrition among students participating in a school food aid program: a randomized trial," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 61(5), pages 583-592, June.
    7. Ki-Hun Kim & Kwang-Jae Kim & Chiehyeon Lim & Jun-Yeon Heo, 2018. "Development of a Lifelogs-Based Daily Wellness Score to Advance a Smart Wellness Service," Service Science, INFORMS, vol. 10(4), pages 408-422, December.
    8. Agnès Le Port & Alice Gueguen & Emmanuelle Kesse-Guyot & Maria Melchior & Cédric Lemogne & Hermann Nabi & Marcel Goldberg & Marie Zins & Sébastien Czernichow, 2012. "Association between Dietary Patterns and Depressive Symptoms Over Time: A 10-Year Follow-Up Study of the GAZEL Cohort," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 7(12), pages 1-8, December.

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