Identifying Future Study Designs for Mental Health and Social Wellbeing Associated with Diets of a Cohort Living in Eco-Regions: Findings from the INSUM Expert Workshop

Friederike Elsner (), Lea Ellen Matthiessen (), Dominika Średnicka-Tober, Wolfgang Marx, Adrienne O’Neil, Ailsa A. Welch, Richard Peter Hayhoe, Suzanne Higgs, Marja van Vliet, Ephimia Morphew-Lu, Renata Kazimierczak, Rita Góralska-Walczak, Klaudia Kopczyńska, Thea Steenbuch Krabbe Bruun, Beatriz Philippi Rosane, Susanne Gjedsted Bügel and Carola Strassner
Additional contact information
Friederike Elsner: Department of Food, Nutrition, Facilities, FH Münster University of Applied Sciences, 48149 Muenster, Germany
Lea Ellen Matthiessen: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Dominika Średnicka-Tober: Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Wolfgang Marx: Food & Mood Centre, IMPACT—The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia
Adrienne O’Neil: Food & Mood Centre, IMPACT—The Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, School of Medicine, Barwon Health, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia
Ailsa A. Welch: Norwich Medical School, University of East Anglia, Norfolk NR4 7TJ, UK
Richard Peter Hayhoe: School of Allied Health, Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine and Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford CM1 1SQ, UK
Suzanne Higgs: School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Marja van Vliet: Institute for Positive Health, 3521 AL Utrecht, The Netherlands
Ephimia Morphew-Lu: The Center for Nutritional Psychology, San Jose, CA 95129, USA
Renata Kazimierczak: Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Rita Góralska-Walczak: Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Klaudia Kopczyńska: Department of Functional and Organic Food, Institute of Human Nutrition Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, 02-776 Warsaw, Poland
Thea Steenbuch Krabbe Bruun: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Beatriz Philippi Rosane: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Susanne Gjedsted Bügel: Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports, University of Copenhagen, 1958 Frederiksberg, Denmark
Carola Strassner: Department of Food, Nutrition, Facilities, FH Münster University of Applied Sciences, 48149 Muenster, Germany

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: Diets influence our mental health and social wellbeing (MHSW) in multiple ways. A rising community concept, Eco-Regions, has gained interest. The research project “Indicators for assessment of health effects of consumption of sustainable, organic school meals in Ecoregions” (INSUM) aims to develop future-oriented research approaches to measure the potential health effects of more sustainable and healthy diets. This first part of the project focuses on MHSW with the goal to identify suitable study designs and indicators. The methodology is based on a 2-day workshop with an interdisciplinary group of experts. This paper describes commonly applied research methods on the nexus between diet and MHSW as presented by the experts and summarises key points from the discussions. The results show that the dominating tool to investigate MSHW is questionnaires. Questionnaires vary largely depending on the research design, such as participants or distribution channels. Cohort studies addressing families and including in-depth interventional and/or experimental studies may be suitable for an Eco-Region investigation. Those MHSW studies can be conducted and combined with measurements of somatic health effects. We conclude that indicators should be seen as complementary rather than independent. Explorative research designs are required to investigate complex Eco-Regions.

Keywords: mental and social health; wellbeing; sustainable and healthy diet; Eco-Regions; sustainable food systems (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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