The effect of school meals with fatty fish on adolescents' self-reported symptoms for mental health: FINS-TEENS - a randomized controlled intervention trial

Siv Skotheim; Katina Handeland; Marian Kjellevold; Jannike Øyen; Livar Frøyland; Øyvind Lie; Ingvild Eide Graff; Valborg Baste; Kjell Morten Stormark; Lisbeth Dahl

doi:10.1080/16546628.2017.1383818

The effect of school meals with fatty fish on adolescents' self-reported symptoms for mental health: FINS-TEENS - a randomized controlled intervention trial

Food Nutr Res. 2017 Oct 12;61(1):1383818. doi: 10.1080/16546628.2017.1383818. eCollection 2017.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare, Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway.
² National Institute of Nutrition and Seafood Research (NIFES), Bergen, Norway.
³ Department of Clinical medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.
⁴ Uni Research Health, Bergen, Norway.
⁵ Department of Health Promotion and Development, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway.

Abstract

There is a growing body of evidence linking fish consumption and n-3 LCPUFAs to mental health. Still, the results from randomized trials with n-3 LCPUFAs show conflicting results, and it is possible that the combined effect of several nutrients in fish may explain the observed associations. To aim of the present study was to investigate if school meals with fatty fish three times per week for 12 weeks could alter mental health in a sample of typically developing adolescents. In the Fish Intervention Studies-TEENS (FINS-TEENS), adolescents from eight secondary schools (n=425) in Norway, were randomized to receive school meals with fatty fish, meat or n-3 LCPUFA supplements. Mental health was assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) and the differences between the groups were assessed with linear mixed effect models, unadjusted and adjusted for baseline and dietary compliance. The results showed no effects of school meals with fatty fish compared to similar meals with meat or n-3 LCPUFAs on the adolescents' self-reported symptom scores for mental health. Among adolescents scoring above the SDQ cut-offs (high-scorers), the fish- improved less than the meat group in the self-reported symptom scores for total difficulties- and emotional problems. However, the findings should be regarded as preliminary, as the analyses for the high-scorer group were underpowered. In conclusion, serving school meals with fatty fish did not alter mental health in a typically developing sample of adolescents. It is possible that serving healthy school meals with meat is more beneficial than similar meals with fatty fish in adolescents scoring high on mental health problems. However, the results should be seen as preliminary, as the dietary compliance in the fish group was low and the analyses in the high score group underpowered. Thus, further studies should investigate the associations between fish consumption and adolescents' mental health.

Keywords: Dietary intervention; adolescence; fatty fish; mental health; school meals.

Grants and funding

This trial was financially supported by the Norwegian Seafood Research Fund (FHF) (grant number: 900842) after consideration by the Research Council of Norway. This study is a part of the FINS project supported by FHF (45.8 mill. NOK). Marine Harvest A/S (MH) supported FINS with 0.6 mill. NOK in cash, in addition to the farmed fish that was used in the diets. Lerøy A/S supported FINS with 0.4 mill. NOK in cash (not used in this study). Pelagia A/S provided free of charge the herring and mackerel that was used in the diets. FHF, MH, Lerøy A/S and Pelagia A/S had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data, in the manuscript writing, or in the decision to publish the results.