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Depression

Nutritional Pearls: Fast Food And Depression

Jaime is a 15-year-old girl who is losing interest in her everyday activities and suffering from insomnia. Her mother brings her for a check-up and mentions that Jaime might have to start medication to treat depression soon.

You ask Jaime about her diet and learn that she eats fast food for dinner at least 5 times a week.

Are there any dietary changes you can recommend?
    

What is the correct answer?
(Answer and discussion on next page)

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Answer: Fast food linked to depression in kids.

Back in 2012, I reviewed a study that looked into the relationship between eating fast food and depression in adults.1 In a sample of nearly 9000 adults, participants who ate the most fast food—about 22 times more, by weight, than those who ate the least—were 40% more likely to develop depression over the course of the 8-year study.

Note: While there is certainly a link between individuals who eat more fast food and the likeliness of exhibiting symptoms of depression, there is no proven causation; we do not have evidence that eating fast food causes depression.
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The Research

The World Health Organization estimates that at least 20% of all children suffer from a mental health disorder, and as many as half of all mental health issues first appear in adolescence.2 With childhood obesity a major concern as well, a group of researchers in Pakistan sought to determine if there was a link between symptoms of mental health disorders and diet in children.3

Researchers analyzed data gathered through a large-scale national sample of children aged 6-18 (P = 13,000) and their parents.

The students responded to 2 questionnaires.

  • The first asked participants to describe how often they felt anxiety, insomnia, confusion, sadness, hopelessness, or worthlessness, as well as how often they were in a fight, bullied others, or were themselves bullied.
  • The second questionnaire was focused on diet and included questions about how often the participants ate different types of junk food—including sweets (cookies, cakes, or candies), sweetened beverages (soda or other soft drinks), fast foods (hot dogs, hamburgers, pizza, or fried chicken), and salty snacks (potato chips, popcorn, or pretzels).

The parents responded to questions relating to demographics, including family size, economic status, education, and general family history.

The Results

The researchers then correlated the diets of those children reporting mental distress or engaging in violence with those who did not.

After taking into account such variables as family history of chronic diseases, the mother’s education, physical activity, economic status, and the body mass index of the child, researchers found that children who consumed fast foods at least weekly were:

  • 20% more likely to experience depression
  • 46% more likely to experience insomnia
  • 23% more likely to experience anxiety
  • 29% more likely to experience feelings of worthlessness

Furthermore, children who ate fast food on a daily basis were:

  • 94% more likely to experience depression
  • Twice as likely to experience feelings of worthlessness
  • 81% more likely to experience anxiety

The relationships between the other types of junk foods—soft drinks, salty snacks, and sweets—and weekly or daily intake also showed increased risks of mental distress, but not as strong as fast food.

What’s the “Take Home”?

Correlation does not equal causation. Eating fast food was related to mental distress, but it’s impossible to draw the conclusion that eating fast food is causing mental distress. Understanding your patient’s diet can, however, give you clues to both their physical and emotional wellbeing.

While this research underscores the importance of a healthy diet for children and adolescents, it also serves as a call for primary care physicians to take a complete diet history as part of their patient care.

References:

  1. Harlan T. Fast food and depression. Dr Gourmet. www.drgourmet.com/bites/2012/041812.shtml#.VGs41NYWV7Y. Accessed November 18, 2014.
  2. Marcus M, Yasami MT, Ommeren MV, et al. Depression: a global public health concern. World Health Organization. 2012. www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/who_paper_depression_wfmh_2012.pdf. Accessed November 18, 2014.
  3. Zahedi H, Kelishadi R, Heshmat R, et al. Association between junk food consumption and mental health in a national sample of Iranian children and adolescents: The CASPIAN-IV study. Nutrition. 2014;30(11-12):1391-1397.