Associations of Emotional Behavior with Nutritional Status and Lifestyle Habits among Schoolchildren Aged 5–10 Years in Sri Lanka

Chisa Shinsugi, Deepa Gunasekara and Hidemi Takimoto
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Chisa Shinsugi: Department of Nutritional Epidemiology and Shokuiku, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, Tokyo 162-8636, Japan
Deepa Gunasekara: Department of Biochemistry and Clinical Chemistry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya, Ragama 11010, Sri Lanka
Hidemi Takimoto: Department of Nutritional Epidemiology and Shokuiku, National Institute of Health and Nutrition, National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition, Tokyo 162-8636, Japan

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-9

Abstract: We aimed to examine the relationships of lifestyle habits and nutritional status with emotional behavior among schoolchildren in Sri Lanka. Five hundred and eight schoolchildren (195 boys and 313 girls) aged 5–10 years were included. Emotional and behavioral problems were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Nutritional status was used for body mass index-for-age z -score. Breakfast consumption, daily moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA), wake-up time, and bedtime were considered lifestyle habits. The mean total difficulties score ± standard deviation was 12.0 ± 5.3, and the mean prosocial behavior score was 7.4 ± 1.9. In total, 89.2% children ate breakfast, and 41.3% engaged in at least 60 min of MVPA per day. After adjustment for confounding factors, multiple logistic regression analyses showed that breakfast skipping was associated with high scores on conduct problems (adjusted odds ratio (aOR) = 2.95, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.50 to 5.77, p < 0.01) and that late bedtime was related to low prosocial behavior scores (aOR = 2.43, 95% CI: 1.17 to 5.03, p < 0.05). Our findings suggest that promoting regular lifestyle habits helps reduce psychological difficulties in schoolchildren. However, further research, including longitudinal studies, are required to identify the mechanism underlying this relationship.

Keywords: emotional and behavioral problems; nutritional status; lifestyle habits; schoolchildren; epidemiological study; Sri Lanka (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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