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The burden of psychological distress and unhealthy dietary behaviours among 222,401 school-going adolescents from 61 countries
Shawon et al. (2023) sought to determine the prevalence of psychological distress and unhealthy eating behaviors among teenagers across national and regional boundaries and any possible correlations between the two. The authors employed 61 nations’ Global School-Based Health Surveys (GSHS). The presence of at least two of the following factors— anxiety, loneliness, suicidal thoughts, planning, and attempt—was used to characterize psychological distress. Four harmful eating habits were considered: drinking soft drinks every day, eating too little fruit, not enough vegetables, and eating fast food every week. Psychological distress was reported by 17.9% of 222,401 school-age adolescents (53.3% of whom were girls); girls reported greater rates of psychological distress than boys (20.8% vs. 14.9%). South-East Asian adolescents reported the lowest prevalence of psychological distress (11.3%), whereas African adolescents reported the most significant (22.5%). Inadequate intake of vegetables, fruits, soft drinks, and weekly fast food intake was prevalent in 37.0%, 28.5%, 50.0%, and 57.4% of cases, respectively, and were all linked to psychological discomfort. According to the results, the authors highlight significant regional differences in the burden of poor eating habits and psychological distress. Adolescents with bad eating habits were more likely to be in psychological distress. [NPID: Dietary habits, psychological distress, adolescents, schools]
Year: 2023
