The research was conducted on children aged between 2 and 9: more fruit and vegetables, pulses and wholegrains in the diet are said to promote self-esteem and improve relationships with others. And eating healthily could also help prevent depression in adults.
Children who eat healthily are happier. This is the finding of a study published in the journal BMC Public Health as part of the European project Idefics (Identification and prevention of dietary- and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants), which was set up with the aim of investigating the causes of obesity in children and identifying possible prevention strategies. In the course of the research, it was discovered, among other things, that the right diet could foster in young children greater self-esteem, fewer emotional difficulties and fewer problems relating to their peers.
The researchers conducted a study on 7,675 children aged between 2 and 9 from the eight European countries involved in the project (Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Spain and Sweden), submitting a questionnaire to their parents and assigning different scores based on the type of diet the children followed. Regardless of body weight and socioeconomic background, the children who showed the best results were those who followed the healthiest diet, with a reduced intake of fats and sugars, greater consumption of fruit, vegetables, wholemeal products and fish 2–3 times a week. "We noticed that there is a link between adherence to a healthy diet and the psychological wellbeing of young children – commented Louise Arvidsson of the University of Gothenburg, one of the authors of the study – children who eat well have fewer emotional problems, better relationships with other children and greater self-esteem. These findings now need to be confirmed by further studies that include children with a diagnosis of depression, anxiety and behavioural problems."
A comprehensive body of literature on the subject does not yet exist, but the link between diet and psychological state is being studied by researchers with the aim of finding a new approach to treating, in part, depression in adults by also taking eating behaviour into account. In particular, an article published in Nutritional Neuroscience identifies five recommendations relating to diet for preventing depression through food. These involve following a traditional diet such as the Mediterranean, Japanese or Norwegian diet, increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables, pulses, wholegrains, nuts and seeds, consuming foods rich in polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, replacing unhealthy foods with healthy and nutritious foods, and finally limiting consumption of processed products, ready meals, industrially produced baked goods and sweets.
