Live Poster Session: https://wesleyan.zoom.us/j/94371273514
Laurel Goulbourne
I am a Senior at Wesleyan University with an Earth and Environmental Science major and a Data Analysis minor. Breakfast is one of the most important meals of the day, and I was curious how it affects mental health.
Abstract:
While depression is known to be linked with vitamin and nutrient deficiency as well as poor diet, it remains unclear whether depressed individuals are more prone to skipping breakfast. The present study will include data from the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (ADD HEALTH). The sample from the first wave of the U.S. National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (ADD HEALTH) represents 20,850 adolescents who were in grades 7-12 during the 1994-95 school year, and have followed 5 waves into their adulthood. The goals of this analysis was to a) look at the association between diet and mental health; and to b) dissect whether a direct correlation between neglecting breakfast and depression exists. That is, this study examined non-breakfast eaters’ relationship with their mental health, in particular depression. I found that there was a significant association between non-breakfast eaters and unhealthy mental state. However, there are several other factors and ways to define an unhealthy mental state that did not seems to have a significant relationship with non-breakfast eaters. For example, not being able to handle personal problems did not have a significant relationship with breakfast. All in all, more research must be done to prove a direct association between mental health and breakfast.
Video Component: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyQY8a-ng6g
Applied-Data-Analysis