Nutrition in Children (2006)
This study explored nutrition in children. This study sought to examine the relationship between food poverty (defined as those individuals who go to school or bed hungry because there is not enough food at home) and food consumption, health and life satisfaction among 8424 school children from the Republic of Ireland, aged between 10 and 17 years. Each participant completed a questionnaire, which assessed social class, dietary composition, eating habits and the presence of emotional and physical symptoms including feeling low, nervous, bad tempered, afraid, tired, exhausted and suffering from headache, stomachache, backache, dizziness and neck of shoulder pain. The questionnaire also assessed the children’s feelings about life and life satisfaction.
Children experiencing food poverty reported lower intakes of fruit, vegetables and brown bread and higher intakes of crisps, fried potatoes and hamburgers. They also had increased risk of experiencing somatic and mental symptoms and experienced negative health perceptions and lower life satisfaction.
Molcho, M et al., ‘Food poverty and health among schoolchildren in Ireland: findings from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study’, Public Health Nutrition, 10(4), 364-370, 2006 June