Junk Food Consumption and Symptoms of Mental Health Problems: A Meta-Analysis for Public Health Awareness

Abstract

Junk Food Consumption and Symptoms of Mental Health Problems: A Meta-Analysis for Public Health Awareness Muhammad Hafizurrachman1*, Risky Kusuma Hartono1 1Department of Public Health, Sekolah Tinggi Ilmu Kesehatan Indonesia Maju, Jakarta, IndonesiaAbstract Junk food consumption increases the risk of having symptoms of mental health problems. This study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to assess the asso ciation between junk food and symptoms of mental health problems. The study was conducted by a systematic literature review from October to December 2020. The data sources were selected from PubMed and ScienceDirect articles published from 2010 to 2020. Those websites were check-marked for text availability for original articles, using keywords for junk foods and mental health. This study had inclusion criteria for selecting articles and organizing articles using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guideline. The full-text articles were selected for conducting a meta analysis using R Studio Software. The 5,079 article titles were obtained, seven of which met the relevant requirements for meta-analysis. The range of res - pondents who experienced symptoms of mental illness was 1.38%–79.8%. There was no heterogeneity based on the tau-squared test. The correlation coef ficient was 0.11 (95% CI = 0.09–0.14), with no publication bias based on Egger’s regression test (0.602 or p-value > 0.05). The frequent consumption of junk food can contribute to mental illness symptoms, even within minimal effects. Keywords: children, junk food, mental health problems, meta-analysis