Association between eating vegetables first at the meal and mental capital: A-CHILD study

Eating vegetables first at meals may be associated with mental capital, such as resilience and self-esteem; however, the association has not been well-studied. We examined how trajectories in eating vegetables first from Grade 1 to 6 were associated with resilience and self-esteem at Grade 6 among children in Adachi City, Tokyo, Japan.

We used data from the Adachi Child Health Impact of Living Difficulty (A-CHILD) study (N = 2654). Resilience and self-esteem were measured using the Children's Resilient Coping Scale reported by parents and the Children's Perceived Competence Scale reported by children, respectively. Group-based trajectory analysis was performed to identify subgroups of eating vegetables first.

Four distinct trajectories were identified: "Not eating vegetables first" (N = 1481, 55.8%), "Increase eating vegetables first" (N = 841, 31.7%), "Reduce eating vegetables first" (N = 157, 5.9%) and "Constant eating vegetables first" (N = 175, 6.6%). After adjusting for potential confounders, children in "Constant eating vegetables first" scored higher resilience (d = 0.20, 95% Confidence Interval, CI: 0.004, 0.39) and higher self-esteem (d = 0.27, 95% CI: 0.06, 0.47) than children in "Not eating vegetables first".

Eating vegetables first at meals is associated with mental capital among elementary school children.

Four trajectory groups can be identified based on the probability of eating vegetables first. Children who "Constant eating vegetables first" from Grade 1 to Grade 6 had higher mental capital scores (resilience and self-esteem) in Grade 6 than children who did "Not eating vegetables first". Eating vegetables first at meals is associated with mental capital among elementary school children. Further research is recommended to explore the mechanism of how eating vegetables first affects child mental capital.