This cross-sectional study assessed perceived stress levels in a group of Italian adolescents and examined potential relationships with diet quality, eating behaviours and health-related quality of life (HR-QoL). A total of 1627 adolescents (52% male, median age 16 years) completed a survey including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), the KIDMED for Mediterranean diet (MD) adherence, the KIDSCREEN-10 for HR-QoL, and the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire for Children. Only 16.5% reported low stress levels, while 21.8% exhibited high perceived stress. Perceived stress was inversely associated with MD adherence (β = -0.06; p β = -0.45; p β = 0.02; p value β = 0.01; p β = 0.01; p < 0.0001). These results reinforce the importance of adolescent mental health and the need for strategies aimed at reducing stress and promoting balanced dietary patterns as MD.
Asensi et al. (Fri,) studied this question.