Skipping breakfast is associated with greater risk of depression and impulsivity. This is what reveals a study carried out among young people in Hong Kong, published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. The researchers also identified a link with anxietyeven if it remains very weak. Study author Stephanie Ming Yin Wong and colleagues sought to explore breakfast eating habits among young people in Hong Kong, as well as examine links between skipping the meal, impulsivity, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. To do this, they analyzed data from the
Hong Kong Youth Epidemiological Study of Mental Health (HK-YES), the first territorial household-based mental health study in Hong Kong, specifically targeting young people aged 15-24. Data was collected between 2019 and 2022. 58% of participants were women.
Impulsivity and depressive symptoms
The analysis focused on 3,154 participantsaged on average 20 years. They answered questions about their breakfast habits and were rated on their impulsiveness (Barratt Impulsiveness Scale–11),
their depressive symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire–9), their anxiety symptoms
(Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale–7) as well as their overall functioning. Result, 85% of participants ate breakfast daily or occasionallywhile 15% skipped it regularly. Those who skipped breakfast were slightly more impulsive, particularly in terms of attention control and self-control, and reported slightly more depressive symptoms as well as slightly higher anxiety. Participants who skipped breakfast reported approximately one less day of productivity per month and slightly less effective social and occupational functioning than those who took it.
Conclusions and limitations
“Skipping breakfast is associated with increased depressive symptoms in young people, with attention control deficit playing a key role in this relationship. Encouraging young people to adopt regular breakfast habits could be integrated into future lifestyle interventions to prevent mental disorders and further promoted in public health policies.”conclude the authors of the study. The study also highlights the links between breakfast habits and mental health. It should be noted, however, that the observed associations were very weak and could only be detected thanks to the large sample size. Additionally, the study was conducted exclusively among Hong Kong residents, and results might be different in other cultural contexts.