Association between junk food consumption and mental health in a national sample of Iranian children and adolescents: The CASPIAN-IV study

Junk food consumption increases the risk of having symptoms of mental health problems. This study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to assess the association between junk food and symptoms of mental health problems. Six researchers, two primary researchers, and four assistant researchers, from October to December 2020 conducted a systematic literature review. The data sources were selected from Pubmed and Science Direct articles published from 2010 to 2020. Those websites were check-marked for text availability for original articles, using keywords for junk foods and mental health. This study had inclusion criteria for selecting and organizing articles using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. The full-text articles were selected for conducting a meta-analysis using R Studio Software. The 5,079 article titles were obtained, seven of which met the relevant requirements for meta-analysis. The range of respondents who experienced symptoms of mental illness was 1.38%–79.8%. There was no heterogeneity based on the Tau-square test. The correlation coefficient was 0.11 (95% CI 0.09–0.14), with no publication bias based on Egger’s Regression test (0.6023 or p-value>0.05). The frequent consumption of junk food can contribute to mental illness symptoms, even with minimal effects.

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Relation between Consumption of Fast Food with its Associated Physical and Mental Aspects of Health among Medical Students in Lahore, Pakistan; A Cross Sectional, Comparative Study

10.53350/pjmhs211581945 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 15 (8) ◽

pp. 1945-1948

Author(s):

Sana Noor ◽

Aemun Shaukat Kayani ◽

Noor Shahid ◽

Fatima Jalal Ch ◽

Javeria Ali Asghar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mental Health ◽

Food Consumption ◽

Fast Food ◽

Mental Health Problems ◽

Health Problems ◽

Female Students ◽

Male Students ◽

Junk Food ◽

Physical And Mental Health ◽

Fast Food Consumption

Background; Unhealthy dietary patterns or fast-food consumption increase the probability of physical health problems. Junk food consumption effect the physical appearance as well as can be the cause of mental illness. Aim: The main aim of the study is o observe the perception of junk food consumption and the associated physical and mental health problems. Methodology; The data was collected using self-designed questionnaire on junk food consumption and related mental or physical issues. The questionnaire was distributed physically to the students with their written consent. The data was collected from 200 students enrolled at a private medical college in Lahore. The data was analyzed and chi-square test of association was used to observe and any link between junk food consumption and health issues. Results; It was seen that 90% of the total female students were ate fast food while, it was evident in 96% for the male students in comparison to female students. The overall fast-food consumption is 70%. It was seen that fast food consumption has been significantly associated with mental health. Fast food consumption was also found to be associated with less physical wellbeing and risk of obesity. Conclusion; Male students were found to be more involved in junk food consumption. The significance link of fast-food intake was observed with progress in mental health. Intake of fast food also found to be associated with anger and depression. Consumption of fast-food increases the risk for weight gain and obesity. Keywords: Consumption, Fast food, Junk food, Obesity, Risk.

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