Association of breakfast intake with psychiatric distress and violent behaviors in Iranian children and adolescents: The CASPIAN- IV Study
In this study by Ahadi et al. (2016), the authors investigated whether eating or skipping breakfast is related to psychiatric ailments or violent conduct in children and adolescents. 14,880 students aged between 6-18 years old were selected from both urban and rural areas, and data on breakfast consumption, psychiatric distress, and violent conduct was collected via questionnaires modeled after the Global school-based student health survey of the World Health Organization. Analysis of the results revealed that psychiatric distress and violent behavior were notably more prevalent amongst students who skipped breakfast compared to those who did not skip breakfast consistently or only skipped breakfast on occasion. In addition, students who skipped breakfast were more likely to report feeling victimized, and engaged in more physical altercations compared to their peers. The authors conclude that students who have breakfast consistently suffer less mental stress and behavioral disorders, and that regular balanced diets, coupled with increasing parent/guardian awareness on the benefits of having breakfast, presents a suitable intervention to prevent mental health disorders and violent conduct in children and adolescents. [NPID: Breakfast, bullying, children and adolescents, psychiatric, violence]
Year: 2016
