Physical activity, sedentary, and dietary behaviors associated with indicators of mental health and suicide risk

Abstract

We used data from the 2017 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey to examine associations between physical activity, sedentary, and healthy dietary behaviors and indicators of mental health, suicidal thoughts, and suicidal attempts among a representative sample of US high school students. Sex-stratified logistic regression was used to separately model each mental health-related outcome on the health-related behaviors, while controlling for race/ethnicity, grade, and body weight status. Significant associations were found between insufficient physical activity, sedentary, and less healthy dietary behaviors and the mental health-related outcomes. Feeling sad and hopeless was associated with not eating breakfast on all 7 days (past week), drinking soda or pop (female only), not meeting the aerobic physical activity guideline (male only), not playing on at least one sports team, and playing video/computer games or using a computer more than two hours (per day). Suicidal thoughts were associated with not eating breakfast on all 7 days, drinking soda or pop, not meeting the aerobic physical activity guideline, and playing video/computer games or using a computer more than two hours per day. Attempted suicide was associated with not eating breakfast on all 7 days, drinking soda or pop, drinking sports drinks, watching television more than two hours per day, and playing video or computer games or using a computer more than two hours per day (male only). While limiting sedentary behaviors and increasing physical activity and healthy dietary behaviors is not a sole solution for improving mental health among adolescents, it could be another possible strategy used in schools to benefit all students.

Suicidal Ideation, Plans and Attempts: Prevalence and Associated Factors in School-Going Adolescents in Sierra Leone in 2017

“…This shows the potentional importance of promoting school attendance in preventing suicide attempts. Unlike previous research [13,[15][16][17]19,20,[28][29][30], this study did not find that parental and peer support, and physical activity was protective against suicidal behaviour, only high parental support was protective against suicidal ideation in univariate analysis. Despite human resource limitations in providing mental health services in Sierra Leone [11], "mental health services are now freely available in all districts, with mental health nurses stationed in almost all district hospitals providing basic counselling for those with common mental health disorders and where needed, providing referrals for more complex cases.…”

“…In agreement with previous investigations [12,13,15,16,19,26], this survey found an association between health risk behaviours (trouble from alcohol use, current cannabis use, and/or sedentary behaviour) and suicidal ideation, plans and/or attempts. Some research [14] showed an association between sexual behaviour and suicide attempt, while this study found only in univariate analysis a significant positive association with suicide attempts.…”

“…As previously reviewed [12,13], risk factors of suicidal behaviour among adolescents include "female sex, older age, lower socioeconomic status, having no close friends, loneliness, anxiety, bullied, exposure to interpersonal violence, alcohol use, drug use, cannabis use and injury, and protective factors include parental and peer support." Furthermore, sexual behaviour [14] and sedentary behaviour [15,16] increased and physical activity [15][16][17] decreased the likelihood of suicidal behaviour. The study aimed to assess the prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation, plans and attempts among middle school students in Sierra Leone.…”

Insufficient Sleep and Poor Sleep Quality Completely Mediate the Relationship between Financial Stress and Dietary Risk among Higher Education Students

“…Thus, greater financial stress is associated with more undesirable dietary behaviors. Further, poor dietary behaviors lead to undesirable health outcomes such as being overweight or obese [ 16 , 17 ], having a higher risk of suffering from chronic diseases [ 18 , 19 , 20 ], and having a greater likelihood of developing mental health problems [ 21 , 22 ]. In terms of mental health, recent research suggests adults who have been financially disadvantaged by the pandemic are experiencing higher levels of psychological distress than those who have not [ 23 ].…”

Let’s Live Healthier: The Relationship between Suicidal Behavior and Physical Activity in an Age-, Gender-, and Body Mass Index-Matched Adults

“…Various causes provoked suicide-related behaviors such as poverty, bullying, and weak social relationships, but the suicide rate in South Korea has soared due to the severe stress caused by significant changes in a Western lifestyle based on rapid economic development [ 13 , 22 ]. Numerous risk factors such as old age, low economic status, and self-esteem have been introduced to date, but a lack of studies regarding the role of physical activity in suicidal behaviors may limit confirmation of its effectiveness on suicidal behaviors despite the increases in the importance of PA. Additionally, it is essential to consider that there is a possibility of inaccurate behavioral outcomes based on the types of PA assessment (i.e., questionnaire, accelerometer).…”