The Impact of Habit of Eating Breakfast and Physical Activity on Children Suicidal Behaviour

Abstract

Introduction: Youth suicide is one of the top three causes of death among age group between 15 and 24 years old. The known risk factors include depression, hopelessness, dysfunctional families, substance abuse, school failure and harassment. However, research reports in relation to the protective factors to prevent adolescent from suicidal attempts are still lacking. The purpose of this study is to detect (if any) the protective effect of physical activity and the habit of eating breakfast on children suicidal attempts.Methods: This study adopted a secondary data analysis approach, in which data was extracted from the 2013 Youth Risk Behaviour Surveillance System to detect the association effect between children's physical activity level and the habit of eating breakfast with suicidal attempts. Results:The increase number of days of physical activity and the habit of eating breakfast were both significantly related to the declining trend in suicidal attempts (p<0.0001). Only the effect of habit of eating breakfast on suicidal behaviour remained a protective factor for suicidal attempts after the adjustment (p<0.001). Conclusions:Our results illustrate that the physical activity has a marginal effect on suicidal attempts among males only. After adjusting other risk factors, the habit of eating breakfast shows a strong effect on preventing children from having suicidal attempt and also suggests a dose effect for the days of eating breakfast. For a child who skips breakfast for a week would have 1.7 higher risk of suicidal attempt compared with another child who eats breakfast every day in a week.

Intra‐and Interpersonal Factors Buffer the Relationship Between Food Insecurity and Mental Well‐Being Among Middle Schoolers

“…Students who agreed that there was at least one teacher or adult in their school that they could talk to if they had a problem, were significantly less likely to feel hopeless or suicidal. This is consistent with previous research that found positive teacher‐student relationships contributed as a protective factor against depression in youth 15 . Our findings are unique as they indicate that, regardless of other elements of teacher‐student relationships, adolescents were significantly less likely to report suicidal thoughts if they felt comfortable talking to an adult or teacher about a problem.…”

“…This is consistent with previous research that found positive teacher-student relationships contributed as a protective factor against depression in youth. 15 Our findings are unique as they indicate that, regardless of other elements of teacher-student relationships, adolescents were significantly less likely to report suicidal thoughts if they felt comfortable talking to an adult or teacher about a problem. Perhaps fostering open communication with non-familial adults encourages children to develop self-reflective and social-emotional competencies that are essential for resiliency-building in the face of hardships.…”

“…Previous research on this topic found that, after adjusting for other risk factors, the habit of eating breakfast was associated with a declining trend in suicide attempts. In fact, researchers discovered a dose effect for the number of days that breakfast was eaten and postulated that high‐school aged students who regularly forego breakfast had 1.7 times greater risk of suicide ideation compared to those who regularly ate breakfast 15 . This suggests that, regardless of family income and level of food security, breakfast consumption has a direct and protective role against suicidality.…”

Which healthy lifestyle factors are associated with a lower risk of suicidal ideation among adolescents faced with cyberbullying?

“…A healthier diet, by regularly taking breakfast, contributed to a lower suicidal ideation, both as a main effect, and in interaction with cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. Regular breakfast consumption has shown to be associated with better adolescent mental health [44] and lower suicidal ideation [57]. Having a regular and quality breakfast positively impacts mental health by facilitating higher quality-of-life, daily and social activities, social support and physical fitness [58], and getting sufficient nutrients [45], such as restoring levels of glucose needed in the brain after glucose deprivation during the night [59].…”

Skipping Breakfast and Lack of Physical Activity: Contributing Factors of Depressive Symptoms among University Students

“…According to the Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES), the rate of skipping breakfast rose from 21.4% in 2011 to 23.9% in 2013 (Korea Centres for Disease Control Prevention, 2014). As breakfast consumption is known to be associated with reduced cortisol production (Smith, 2002), which is related to moods, and has been linked to prevention of suicide among children (Wong & Chiu, 2015), it is important to investigate the association between breakfast consumption and depression. However, very few studies have investigated the association between breakfast consumption and depression or mental health.…”