Food and the nutrition of of children and adolescents in residential child care
Introductory reading
Mental Health Foundation
Nutrition and mental health: obvious, yet under recognised | Mental Health Foundation
Food for thought: mental health and nutrition briefing
MHF-food-for-thought-mental-health-nutrition-briefing-march-2017.pdf (mentalhealth.org.uk)
- Nutrition and mental health: why is the relationship important?
- Protective factors for mental health
- Risk factors for mental health
- The role of food in preventing mental health problems
- The role of diet in relation to specific mental health problems
- Discussion and policy recommendations
Residential Child Care related reading
Food practices and nutrition of children and adolescents in residential care: A scoping review
Abstract
Food practices of children and adolescents have thus far been researched mainly regarding families and schools. However, there are children and adolescents who live outside of their families of origin in various forms of residential accommodation together with other young people and staff. It can be assumed that food practices and eating habits are central and challenging topics in everyday life in these institutions. Therefore, this paper aimed to provide an overview of the empirical research on food practices in residential care for children and adolescents. We identified 11 studies presented in 19 publications. These studies examined data from 479 children and adolescents, as well as 187 staff members, from 48 residential care units in 8 countries. Due to the interdisciplinary research field, the included studies showed great heterogeneity in the examination of food. In summary, the main foci have been the meaning of food practices in residential care, food practices and forced migration, biopolicy, and nutrition and health. A major topic is the social dimension of food, especially the symbolic meaning in terms of providing care and “making a family”. Nutritional or health aspects have been mainly analysed in terms of eating disorders or providing enough food. Future research on food practices in residential care homes should also pay attention to quantitative designs that include a broader understanding of food, including its social and emotional facets.
Here’s some papers taking a broader understanding of food, its social/emotional facets
Nutrition and mental health: A review of current knowledge about the impact of diet on mental health
In the context of current changes, urbanisation, globalisation, including the food industry, and changes in people’s lifestyles and eating habits, the correlations between these phenomena and their impact on mental state become important.
Knowledge of these correlations creates potential opportunities to implement new effective dietary, pharmacological, therapeutic, and above all preventive interventions.
The highest therapeutic potential is seen in the rational diet, physical activity, use of psychobiotics, and consumption of antioxidants. Research also shows that there are nutritional interventions that have psychoprotective potential.
Are there correlations between nutrition and mental health?
Are there psychoprotective food ingredients?
Are there nutritional interventions with proven preventive potential for mental disorders?
Nutritional psychiatry: Towards improving mental health by what you eat
Nutritional psychiatry: Towards improving mental health by what you eat – PubMed (nih.gov)
While the determining factors of mental health are complex, increasing evidence indicates a strong association between a poor diet and the exacerbation of mood disorders, including anxiety and depression, as well as other neuropsychiatric conditions. There are common beliefs about the health effects of certain foods that are not supported by solid evidence and the scientific evidence demonstrating the unequivocal link between nutrition and mental health is only beginning to emerge. Current epidemiological data on nutrition and mental health do not provide information about causality or underlying mechanisms. Future studies should focus on elucidating mechanism. Randomised controlled trials should be of high quality, adequately powered and geared towards the advancement of knowledge from population-based observations towards personalised nutrition. Here, we provide an overview of the emerging field of nutritional psychiatry, exploring the scientific evidence exemplifying the importance of a well-balanced diet for mental health. We conclude that an experimental medicine approach and a mechanistic understanding is required to provide solid evidence on which future policies on diet and nutrition for mental health can be based.
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- A randomised controlled trial of dietary improvement for adults with major depression (the ‘SMILES’ trial)
