Have Breakfast!! Study on Mental Health Impact

[Tim R]

I just found this Meta-Analysis on the relationship between breakfast and its impact on mental health. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33314992/

 

Results: The total sample size of all selected studies was 399,550 individuals with age range of 6 to ≥65 years old. We found a significant positive association between skipping breakfast and Odds Ratio (OR) of depression (pooled OR: 1.39; 95% CI: 1.34-1.44), stress (pooled OR: 1.23; 95% CI: 1.04-1.43) and psychological distress (pooled OR: 1.55; 95% CI: 1.47-1.62). In contrast, there was no significant association between skipping breakfast and anxiety in all age cohort (pooled OR: 1.31; 95% CI: 0.97-1.65). However, subgroup analysis based on age stratification showed that there was a significant positive association between skipping breakfast and anxiety in adolescences (pooled OR: 1.51; 95% CI: 1.25-1.77).

Conclusion: In conclusion, skipping breakfast was positively associated with odds of depression, stress and psychological distress in all age groups and anxiety in adolescence, underlining impact of breakfast on mental health.

 

Wasn't sure if this belongs in "Self-Actualization" or "Health, Fitness, Nutrition", because it's actually a rather important issue so I thought it's better if many of you know about this, since we have a lot of rather young members here and surely a lot of people who skip their breakfast. It seems to be a rather modern phenomenon.

[TheAlchemist]

Could it also be that those who were more depressed, stressed and psychologically distressed were more likely to skip breakfast, since it is just association/correlation? 

Edit: from the study discussion section: "The majority of studies included in this systematic review and meta-analysis were cross-sectional, which cannot provide a causal link between skipping breakfast and psychological disorders. As this meta-analysis was conducted on observational studies, it is not possible to rule out the possibility of residual confounding having affected the results in each study and/or the pooled estimates in the meta-analysis." https://sci-hub.se/https://doi.org/10.1080/1028415X.2020.1853411

It's an interesting study nonetheless, I'm not trying to poke holes just for the sake of it, I will actually look into this more and reconsider my breakfast skipping habit. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by TheAlchemist

[Osaid]

Well, ofc there is gonna be stress when the thing you look to comfort for in the morning is taken away from you. I think there would be similar findings if you took away someone's coffee for a week or so, or anything else they like eating or doing.

And yes, food does have a significant impact on mental health. Simply eating can reduce cortisol and instantly make you feel less depressed. But, there is also such a thing as overeating. I think it is possible to adapt to a routine where you don't have food in the morning, but of course you will have stress and withdrawal symptoms before you get there.

 

[herghly]

I've been fasting for years. On most days I eat in a 3-6 hour window. Since I've started this type of fasting I've seen huge improvements in my mood and more consistent energy.

Before COVID I regularly take flights. When I had long-haul flights I could just choose to fast and only drink water. So much more empowering than eating terrible airplane food.

 

[Tim R]

2 hours ago, TheAlchemist said:

Could it also be that those who were more depressed, stressed and psychologically distressed were more likely to skip breakfast, since it is just association/correlation? 

Yes of course. There are hundreds of factors. 

The point of my thread was to get the skippers among us who experience psychological distress to rethink their habits - because I usually skip breakfast and I've noticed that if I don't do that, I tend to feel better. So to those of you who are like me: experiment!

"This is in contrast with the results of a study indicating that breakfast skippers had better quality of life and lower levels of stress and depression than breakfast eaters who ate a poor or very poor quality breakfast. In addition to breakfast skipping, quality of breakfast is another factor affecting mental health. Inconsistent findings mentioned above might be explained by different quality of breakfast eaten. It has been shown that individuals who ate a good quality breakfast containing cereal or other grain based products and dairy products, had higher scores of quality of life and lower scores of stress, depression and psychological disorders than those who consumed a poor or very poor quality breakfast."

This however seems to indicate causality between life quality and breakfast. Having a shitty breakfast will mess with your hormones and even your neurotransmitter production and make you feel like crap.

I actually think the causation originates from skipping breakfast (in most cases). I even think that for people who skip breakfast because they are psychologically stressed, having breakfast would partially mitigate their psychological ailment.

Eating is just too fundamental of a human need and I can't imagine how not satisfying that need in a proper way would make you feel better?

[Charlotte]

The publishers and the glorified studies that are spread really do poke at a nerve of mine ? They can heavily influence people's lives simply by agreeing with the conclusion and believing in it, ultimately turning it even into dogma. Unfortunately some people are so underdeveloped they don't even contemplate actually trying it out for themselves. They just believe it and then spread misinformation. Not saying you are, please let me make that clear. Please don't ever forget to go out there with an open mind, as free of bias as possible (impossible to a degree) and try the experiment out for yourself. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by Charlotte

[Dingo]

What even is "breakfast"? Is it a type of meal or a meal taken at specific time of the day? It also matters a lot on what were the habits of the participants before the study. Overall sounds weak.

I fast from 20.00 till 12.00 and im most productive in the morning, feel great and often I have a breakfast-type meal at around 12.30... is it lunch or not?

[CultivateLove]

10 hours ago, Tim R said:

It has been shown that individuals who ate a good quality breakfast containing cereal or other grain based products and dairy products, had higher scores of quality of life and lower scores of stress, depression and psychological disorders than those who consumed a poor or very poor quality breakfast."

Wait, by what standards is cereal considered healthy breakfast? 

Maybe healthy compared to the average American breakfast but still, labeling cereal "healthy", especially for breakfast, is just absurd. 

Edited August 14, 2021 by CultivateLove