Children's diet can affect their mental health, with fruit and vegetables linked to better behaviour, according to a new study.
Children who consume more fruits and vegetables show fewer internalizing behavioral problems, such as anxiety, depression and social withdrawal, while those who consume more sweet and salty foods show more difficulty coping with externalizing problems, including aggression and attention problems, a new study has found.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Agder in Norway and published in the journal Nutrients, suggests a strong link between diet and the mental health of young children.
"Mental health problems are increasing worldwide. Identifying preventable factors for these problems is important and will have the greatest impact if identified at an early age," the researchers write.
The study highlights that mental health is particularly important early in life and is critical for future outcomes in school, social skills and education, which affect health and socioeconomic status throughout life.
As mental health problems are on the rise worldwide, researchers are paying increasing attention to diet, lifestyle, and other socioeconomic factors that may influence this trend.
The researchers analyzed data from 363 4-year-old children and their mothers from the Early Food for Future Health study in Norway, a study that aimed to improve diet between the ages of 6 and 12 months.
The study found that children who consumed fruits and vegetables more frequently exhibited lower levels of internalizing problems such as depression, anxiety, and social withdrawal, regardless of the mother's education, financial difficulties, and symptoms of depression and anxiety in the mother.
At the same time, a more frequent consumption of sweet and salty foods was associated with more "explosive" or externalizing behavior.
Externalizing behavior problems are among the most common in childhood and the leading reason for referral to child and adolescent mental health services. They include aggressive and oppositional behaviors and predict social problems and poor academic achievement throughout childhood and adolescence, the authors write.
These behaviors often begin in children under the age of five.
According to the study, about two-thirds of children who exhibit externalizing behavior problems between the ages of two and three continue to exhibit high levels of these difficulties at school age.
"This demonstrates the importance of identifying factors associated with mental health in the early stages of life," the study concludes.
