ArticleNutrients2026
Associations Between Aspects of Diet and Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors in Children Aged 4 Years.
Article in Nutrients, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
BACKGROUND/
objectivesMental health challenges are increasing worldwide. Identifying preventable factors for such challenges is important and will have the greatest impact if identified in young children. In this study we aimed to explore the association between aspects of diet and child mental health at the age of 4 years.
methodsThis is a secondary analysis of data from the Early Food for Future health study in Norway, a randomized controlled trial aiming to improve diet at ages 6-12 months. Cross-sectional data from 363 children aged 4 years and their mothers are used. Diet was assessed using food frequency questions. Five food scores were developed: vegetables, fruits, fruit and vegetables, sweet/salty snack score, and soft drink score. The Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) was used to assess internalizing and externalizing behaviors. Crude and multivariable linear regression models are presented.
resultsWe found that frequency of consumption of vegetables and total frequency of consumption of fruit and vegetables in 4-year-old children were inversely associated with internalizing behavior (β -0.207, 95% CI: 0.351, -0.063), while frequency of consumption of sweet and salty snacks was positively associated (β 1.807, 95% CI: 0.276, 3.337) with externalizing behavior and frequency of consumption of fruit and vegetables was inversely associated (β -0.188, 95% -0.336, -0.041). All were independent of maternal education, measures of financial difficulties and maternal mental health.
conclusionAn inverse association was observed between child frequency of consumption of fruit and vegetables and internalizing and externalizing behaviors, whereas frequency of consumption of sweet/salty snacks was positively associated with externalizing behavior. A varied and healthy diet early in life may promote child mental health, with potential large returns for society. Given the observational nature of the data, causal inference is limited and intervention studies are needed.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.