The Relationship between Family Meals and Mental Health Problems in Japanese Elementary School Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Noriko Kameyama, Yukina Morimoto, Ayako Hashimoto, Hiroko Inoue, Ikuko Nagaya, Kozue Nakamura and Toshiko Kuwano
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Noriko Kameyama: Graduate School of Integrated Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan
Yukina Morimoto: Graduate School of Integrated Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan
Ayako Hashimoto: Department of Food and Nutrition, Faculty of Home Economics, Kyoto Women’s University, Kyoto 605-8501, Japan
Hiroko Inoue: Department of Nutrition and Health Sciences, Faculty of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Toyo University, Tokyo 374-0193, Japan
Ikuko Nagaya: Department of Food and Nutrition, Gifu City Women’s College, Gifu 501-0192, Japan
Kozue Nakamura: Gifu City Health Center, Gifu 500-8701, Japan
Toshiko Kuwano: Graduate School of Integrated Pharmaceutical and Nutritional Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka 422-8526, Japan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 17, 1-12

Abstract: The relative burden of mental health problems in children is increasing worldwide. Family meals have attracted attention as an effective modifiable factor for preventing children’s mental health problems. We examined the relationship between family meals and mental health problems in Japanese elementary schoolchildren. A cross-sectional, self-administered questionnaire survey was conducted with guardians of children aged 7 to 12 years in Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Frequency of family meals and with whom the child eats breakfast, lunch, and dinner were assessed separately for weekdays and weekends/holidays. Mental health was assessed using the Japanese version of the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Multivariate adjusted odds ratios (ORs) for borderline/abnormal mental health status were calculated using logistic regression analysis. Of the 678 children, 24.9% had borderline/abnormal mental health status. Children eating breakfast with their family less than once a week (adjusted OR, 4.79; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.51–15.25) and those eating weekend breakfast alone (adjusted OR, 3.61; 95% CI, 1.42–9.23) had a higher prevalence of borderline/abnormal mental health status compared to those eating breakfast seven times a week and weekend breakfast with their family, respectively. These results suggest that family meals, especially breakfast, might be positively associated with better mental health in children.

Keywords: family meal; mental health; Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ); children; behavioral problems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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