Eating Behaviours and Their Relationship with Mental Health Indicators Among Canadian Youth

Abstract

Adhering to public health recommendations for physical activity, screen time, and sleep is linked to better mental health, but less is known about eating behaviours and how these relate to youth’s mental health. This cross-sectional study used nationally representative data from the 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth to explore associations between eating behaviours, level of adherence to eating recommendations and mental health indicators (self-rated health, anxiety and depressive symptoms) among Canadian youth aged 12-17 years. Regular breakfast consumption on school days and frequent family meals were positively associated with all three mental health indicators while avoiding screens during meals was only associated with low depressive symptoms. A dose-response gradient was observed, with meeting two or three recommendations being increasingly associated with mental health indicators (self-rated mental health and depressive symptoms) compared to meeting none of the eating recommendations. Meeting recommended eating practices is associated with better mental health among Canadian youth.