The purpose of the study was to investigate the influence of dietary practices on suicidal thought and
planning among Ghanaian junior high and senior high school students. Participants were 3031(1650
boys and 1381 girls) adolescents aged 11-18. The 2012 Ghana Global School-Based Student Health
Survey served as the data collection instrument. The predictor variables were gender, being hungry
(HNG), body mass index (BMI), and the number of times parents understood adolescents’ problems
(APS). The response variables were suicidal thought and suicidal planning. Even though higher
percentages of girls reported suicidal thought (51.93%) and suicidal planning (50.76%), boys had
higher odds than girls of having suicidal thoughts and planning suicide. Logistic regression analyses
indicated gender, HNG, and APS, were significant predictors of suicidal thought and planning. BMI
predicted suicidal thought but not suicidal planning. Adolescents with higher BMI were more likely to
report suicidal thoughts than those with lower BMI. Furthermore, those who were hungry “most
times” had higher odds of reporting suicidal thoughts and planning than those who were never
hungry.