The impact of skipping a meal on perceived stress and mental distress

Abstract

The prevalence of food insecurity is exceptionally widespread, largely affecting those who do not have access to healthy and consistent food. Skipping a meal due to a lack of money or other resources is one prominent aspect of food insecurity that many must practice to survive. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of skipping a meal on participants’ perceived stress and mental distress. It is hypothesized that skipping a meal is directly related to an increase in perceived stress and mental distress. An anonymous questionnaire was administered through social media outlets, such as GroupMe, Facebook, and Instagram, to individuals over 18. The questionnaire included demographic questions and seven validated scales, including the Brief Resilience Scale, Stress Mindset Measure, Perceived Stress Scale, Food Mood Questionnaire, Food Insecurity Experience Scale, Academic Motivation Scale, Kessler-6, and the Psychological Distress Scale. These scales measured dietary and physical activity, the prevalence of food insecurity, stress, mental distress, resilience, academic motivation, and perceived stress. Data from 1005 individuals were analyzed using Spearman’s Rho correlation in IBM SPSS Version 25.0. Our results indicate that skipping a meal has a positive correlation with symptoms of mental distress, such as lack of confidence, nervousness, lack of energy, and irritability (p<0.01). This could be detrimental to students and older individuals alike, as food insecurities are a rising global issue and can negatively impact day-to-day life. Our study suggests that one aspect of food insecurity, such as skipping meals, may increase feelings of mental distress and negatively impact the quality of life. Currently applying to Binghamton University Undergraduate Research Center and Harpur Edge This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2023 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.