Guest Editors
Muros José Joaquín
Affiliation: Department of Didactics of Corporal Expression, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain.
Biography:
Muros José Joaquín was appointed senior lecturer at the University of Granada in 2021. In 2019, he obtained an international doctorate in Education from the Universities of Jaen and Nottingham, obtaining an extraordinary doctorate award, and an international doctorate in Nutrition from the Universities of Granada and Loughborough in 2013. Both were awarded the highest rating. He have received several research awards, most notably the 17th John M Kinney Award for Paediatric Nutrition in 2017 for the article “Mediterranean diet adherence is associated with lifestyle, physical fitness, and mental wellness among 10-y-olds in Chile”, published in the journal Nutrition (10,000 dollars), the “Institute of Rioja Studies” research award for researchers under 35-years-old (6,000 euros) for the work entitled “Evaluation of health status in schoolchildren in Logrono: Influence of diet and physical activity”, and best young researcher in the area of clinical nutrition and metabolism awarded by the SENPE in 2018 (1,000 euros).
Gracia Cristina, Villodres
Affiliation: Department of Didactics of Corporal Expression, University of Granada, 18071 Granada, Spain.
Biography: Graduated in Primary Education with a specialty in Physical Education from the University of Granada (Spain). She completed the master's degree in "Research and innovation in curriculum and training" and the master's degree in "Physical activity and health." She has received research scholarships at the University of Granada granted by the Ministry of Education and Professional Training of the government of Spain. Currently, the Ministry of Universities of Spain granted her a predoctoral contract for University Teacher Training with which she is carrying out her thesis related to healthy habits, mental health, and cognitive and academic performance in children, adolescents, and young people. She received the Talent Award for her academic and research career at the University of Granada in 2022. She has participated in multiple national and international conferences related to innovation and research in education, physical activity, nutrition, and mental health in students of educational stages.
Summary
Any early stage before adulthood is key for the acquisition of behaviours that are likely to endure into adulthood. It is therefore not surprising that engagement in healthy eating, an active lifestyle, and spending fewer hours in front of the screen are some of the most important habits to be acquired by children for them to develop into healthy adults. Healthy eating habits and an active lifestyle have been demonstrated to have a positive influence on preventing chronic diseases and improving mental health in children and adolescents. On the other hand, the academic world has been scandalized due to the general decline in PISA scores. Academics claim that the increase in hours spent in front of screens and the use of social networks has negatively affected the physical, mental, and cognitive health of children and adolescents. Social networks offer images and messages that promote the thinness ideal in women and the muscularity ideal in men, which has caused this population to worry about their bodies conforming to these idealized and unrealistic physical standards. Consequently, this has led to the inspiration to physical activity engagement and follow diets with a motivation oriented to appearance (rather than health), triggering emotional problems (i.e., body dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, and high body shame), cognitive problems (i.e., high body vigilance) and behavioural problems (i.e., unhealthy eating behaviours or eating disorders).
Thus, the goal of this Special Issue in the International Journal of Mental Health Promotion is to increase scientific evidence in the study of healthy lifestyle behaviours and mental health in children and adolescents. We welcome reviews and original research which consider novel approaches and identify gaps in knowledge. We also encourage submissions that explore how following healthy habits can impact physical and mental health during these stages.
Keywords
- Physical activity
- Nutrition
- Screen time
- Academic performance
- Social networks
- Self-esteem
- Body image
- Eating disorders
- Physical health
- Mental health
- Children
- Adolescents
- Youths
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