Examining Nutrition Knowledge, Skills, and Eating Behaviours in People with Severe Mental Illness: A Cross-Sectional Comparison among Psychiatric Inpatients, Outpatients, and Healthy Adults

Abstract

Compared to the general population, people with severe mental illness (SMI) have an increased risk of weight gain and metabolic syndrome, but also of malnutrition, in part due to unhealthy lifestyle behaviours. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to identify barriers to healthy eating, including nutrition knowledge and skills in people with SMI. For this purpose, we compared the means of anthropometric data such as body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, and interview data on nutrition knowledge and skills, health-related variables, eating behaviours, personality, motivation, and attitudes in 65 inpatients and 67 outpatients of the Psychiatric Hospital of the University of Zurich and 64 healthy adults using ANOVA and chi-squared tests. The results showed that patients with SMI had worse nutritional status and lifestyle compared to the healthy controls, including disordered (e.g., night eating) and unhealthy (e.g., high intake of sugary foods) eating habits. However, levels of nutrition knowledge, cooking and food skills, and motivation to eat healthily were not significantly lower in the psychiatric patients than in the healthy adults and were not associated with weight change. Based on our findings, nutritional support for people with SMI is urgently needed and should include not only educational but also behavioural and long-term approaches.

Keywords: depression; diet; eating behaviour; health; nutrition knowledge and skills; psychiatry; psychosis; severe mental illness.

Figure 1

Differences (% of scale scores) in psychiatric patients with weight gain or weight loss.