Mental health and food consumption among California children 5–11 years of age

• Published in: Nutrition and health (Berkhamsted) Vol. 22; no. 3-4; pp. 237 - 253
• Main Authors: Banta, Jim E, Khoie-Mayer, Roxanne N, Somaiya, Chintan K, McKinney, Ogbochi, Segovia-Siapco, Gina
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London, England SAGE Publications 01-07-2013
• Subjects: Beverages; California; Child; Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Child, Preschool; Cross-Sectional Studies; Diet; Dietary Carbohydrates; Energy Intake; Fast Foods; Female; Fruit; Humans; Logistic Models; Male; Mental Health; Nutrition Surveys; Nutritive Value; Socioeconomic Factors; Vegetables; epidemiology; California Health Interview Survey; food preference; children; Mental health
• ISSN: 0260-1060; 2047-945X
• DOI: 10.1177/0260106015599511

Objective:
The purpose of this research was to determine if poor mental health is associated with the intake of specific foods among California children.
Design:
Secondary data analysis of the 2007 and 2009 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) was conducted. Mental health was measured using a shortened version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Dietary measures were self-reported servings of fruit, vegetables, 100% fruit juice, high sugar foods, soda/sweetened drinks, and French fries/fried potatoes consumed the previous day, as well as frequency of fast food consumed during the past week.
Setting:
Phone interviews were conducted via the CHIS on households in California.
Subjects:
Data belonging to children (n = 11,190) ages 5–11 years whose parents completed the CHIS 2007 and 2009 random-dial telephone surveys was investigated.
Results:
Of an estimated annual population of 3.7 million children, 180,000 (4.9%) had poor mental health. Children with poor mental health consumed more soda/sweetened drinks (0.60 vs 0.45 servings per day, p = 0.024), French fries/fried potatoes (0.27 vs 0.14 servings per day, p = 0.003), and fast food (2.02 vs 1.38 servings per week, p = 0.009) compared to children with good mental health. Mental health was not associated with other dietary measures. Adjusting for relevant socio-demographic characteristics, logistic regression found poor mental health to be significantly associated with any consumption of French fries/fried potatoes (odds ratio (OR) = 2.0, p = 0.001) or vegetables (OR 0.6, p = 0.005) on the previous day, and fast food two or more times in the past week (OR 1.7, p < 0.001). Interaction analysis revealed that an estimated 33% of girls with poor mental health consumed French fries, compared to 12% of girls with good mental health (OR 2.91, p = 0.006).
Conclusions:
Children with poor mental health are more likely to consume calorie-dense but nutrient-poor foods compared to their counterparts. Intake of such foods may contribute to worse physical health as these children mature.