HIGHER fruit and vegetable intake was linked with greater mental well-being scores among secondary schoolchildren, according to a new study based out of the U.K. “The relationship of diet and nutrition with mental health and well-being in either children or adults is not fully understood, although the relevance of diet quality to physical health in relation to non-communicable disease morbidity and mortality is well established,” authors affiliated with Norwich Medical School wrote in the study published in BMJ Nutrition, Prevention & Health. To conduct the study, researchers analyzed the Norfolk Children and Young People’s Health and Well-being Survey issued in 2017 across more than 50 schools in Norfolk, U.K. including data among 7,570 secondary school children and 1,253 primary school children. Study authors found a strong association between nutrition and mental well-being among the older secondary schoolchildren, however analyses didn’t reveal such a link among primary schoolchildren, possibly owing to a lesser understanding of portion sizes in self-reported data. Results from the secondary schoolchildren indicated a linear pattern between fruit and vegetable intake and mental well-being score; five or more portions was associated with a greater mental well-being compared to 3-4 or 1-2 portions. The largest portion size (5 or more) was associated with a 3.73 increased well-being score versus children reporting zero servings. (SD-Agencies) | 