Health

Five A Day: UK Children With Healthy Diet Have Best Mental Health

Five a day: UK children with healthy diet have best mental health

Study prompts experts to call for nutrition to be included in public health strategies

Children who eat five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day have the best mental health, according to the first study of its kind.

Higher intake is associated with better mental wellbeing among secondary school pupils, and a nutritious breakfast and lunch is linked to emotional wellbeing in pupils across all ages, the research shows.

The findings, published in the journal BMJ Nutrition Prevention & Health, have prompted experts to call for the inclusion of good nutrition in public health strategies to boost children’s mental health. Data indicates that poor mental health among young people is soaring.

Record numbers are seeking access to NHS mental health services, the Guardian reported last week. In just three months, nearly 200,000 young people have been referred to mental health services – almost double pre-pandemic levels, according to a report by the Royal College of Psychiatrists.

The new study is the first time researchers have investigated the association between how much fruit and vegetables UK schoolchildren eat, breakfast and lunch choices, and mental wellbeing.

The lead researcher, Prof Ailsa Welch at the University of East Anglia’s Norwich Medical School, said: “While the links between nutrition and physical health are well understood, until now, not much has been known about whether nutrition plays a part in children’s emotional wellbeing.

“We know that poor mental wellbeing is a major issue for young people and is likely to have long-term negative consequences.”

Her team analysed data from almost 9,000 children in 50 primary and secondary schools across Norfolk taken from the Norfolk children and young people’s health and wellbeing survey. Participants self-reported dietary choices and took part in mental wellbeing tests covering cheerfulness, relaxation and interpersonal relationships.The study took into account other factors that might have an impact including adverse childhood experiences and home situations.

“In terms of nutrition, we found that only around a quarter of secondary-school children and 28% of primary-school children reported eating the recommended five-a-day fruits and vegetables,” said Welch. “Just under one in 10 children were not eating any fruits or vegetables.

“More than one in five secondary-school children and one in 10 primary children didn’t eat breakfast. And more than one in 10 secondary-school children didn’t eat lunch.”

Dr Richard Hayhoe, also from UEA’s Norwich Medical School, said: “Among secondary schoolchildren in particular, there was a really strong link between eating a nutritious diet, packed with fruit and vegetables, and having better mental wellbeing.”

According to the data, in a class of 30 secondary pupils, 21 will have had a conventional breakfast, and at least four will have had nothing to eat or drink before starting classes in the morning. Three pupils will go into afternoon classes without any lunch.

“Children who ate a traditional breakfast experienced better wellbeing than those who only had a snack or drink,” Hayhoe said. “But secondary schoolchildren who drank energy drinks for breakfast had particularly low mental wellbeing scores, even lower than for those children consuming no breakfast at all.”

Welch added: “As a potentially modifiable factor at an individual and societal level, nutrition represents an important public health target for strategies to address childhood mental wellbeing.”

Health

JOHESU gives FG 15-day deadline to embark on strike

Health care workers under the aegis of Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) has issued a 15-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to address all lingering issues with the union or risks another round of industrial action.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by the national chairman and national secretary of the union, noted that the Federal Government has not been able to address their demands since June last year when they suspended their strike, owing to promises from President Bola Tinubu to intervene.

The statement highlighted the union’s demands to include non-payment of covid-19 hazard allowance to members, the demand for tax waiver on health care workers’ allowances, and call for the immediate suspension of the plans to establish an agency that regulates the activities in national health facilities.

JOHESU embarked on strike between May 19, 2023 and June 6, 2023 last year, a two-week period that almost crippled health care services in public hospitals. The strike was called off following Tinubu’s promise to intervene.

Health

Yobe confirms 4 new polio cases

The Yobe Government has confirmed four new cases of polio in three Local Government Areas three years after the state was declared polio-free.

The Executive Secretary of the State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr Babagana Kundi-Machina, made this disclosure while launching a campaign against the disease in Machina, a border LGA with Niger Republic, on Saturday.

He said that the State Government, in collaboration with its partners, had launched a state-wide outbreak response and vaccination exercise to address the situation.

“It is unfortunate that after three years of being certified polio-free, we have recorded a circulating polio virus outbreak in Bursari, Machina, and Yusufari LGAs,” Kundi-Machina said.

The State Coordinator of the World Health Organisation, WHO, Dr Hamisu Alhassan, pledged the organisation’s support to the state toward curbing the outbreak.

He called on the public to adopt preventive measures, including personal and environmental hygiene, hand washing, and immunisation to boost immunity and promote good health, especially among women and children.

On his part, the Emir of Machina, Alhaji Bashir Machinama, urged his people to cooperate with the government by accepting the vaccine.

Machinama thanked the State Government for its prompt response and pledged to sensitise his community to take relevant steps to contain the disease.

Health

Cholera kills 11 in Ebonyi

A cholera outbreak in Ndibokote village, located in the Ezza Inyimagu area of Izzi Local Government, has claimed the lives of 10 people, including a nursing mother who leaves behind a nine-month-old baby.

The outbreak, confirmed by Ebonyi State Health Commissioner Dr. Moses Ekuma through a statement issued by ministry spokesperson Lucy Anyim, has affected approximately 20 others who are currently receiving treatment. Health officials are working diligently to contain the disease and prevent further spread in the community.

Dr. Ekuma noted that Governor Francis Nwifuru has approved the procurement of essential medical supplies to manage the crisis.

Additionally, three treatment centers have been established in the affected area, including Iziogo Health Centre, Sudan Mission Onuenyim, and a facility in Ndibokote village.

Open defecation and poor hygiene practices, along with reliance on stream water for drinking, are believed to be contributing factors to the outbreak.

Residents have been urged to follow precautionary measures to reduce the risk of further infections. Health authorities are on high alert to ensure the situation remains under control.