Fruit and veg may aid both mind and body in children

CHILDREN who eat their five-a-day have better mental health than those who do not eat fruit and vegetables, a study suggests.

Secondary schoolchildren who consume five portions of greens a day score better on tests for well-being, a phrase that scientists say is synonymous with “positive mental health”.

Researchers from the University of East Anglia studied almost 10,000 school-age children in Norfolk and asked them to rank 14 statements about how they are feeling on a scale of one to five.

Nearly 2,000 children in the study regularly ate five or more portions a day and scored 3.73 points higher for wellbeing than the 739 teenagers who did not have any on a daily basis. Dr Richard Hayhoe, study co-author from UEA’S Norwich Medical School, said: “Among secondary-school children in particular, there was a really strong link between eating a nutritious diet, packed with fruit and vegetables, and having better mental well-being.”

The study also highlighted the importance of eating regular meals.

Children who had no breakfast had a mental well-being score 2.73 points lower, on average, than those who did.

Prof Ailsa Welch, lead researcher from the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Nutrition represents an important public health target for strategies to address childhood mental well-being.”

The research is published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health.