Right from the abstract of the first study linked, the authors say that they haven't at all indicated that eating more fruits and veg makes you happier.<p>"Effects may be bidirectional given that optimists are likely to engage in health behaviors associated with more serum antioxidants, and more serum antioxidants are likely associated with better physical health that enhances optimism."<p>But I guess "happy people are more likely to eat well" isn't a very interesting headline....
No, this is false. Spreading this idea is very harmful, please stop.<p>Eating low-quality foods is bad for people's health, and makes them unhappy. When people do that, they instinctively compensate for the low nutrient density in those foods by eating more, which has negative effects. But if you simply reduce quantity without replacing the junk food with healthier stuff, that isn't an improvement; that's malnutrition.
I hope this is true, because I'm about 3 months and ~30 pounds into my own diet and I'm not any happier. I'm not miserable like I thought I would be, but I certainly find myself less patient and less pleasant than before.<p>I'm doing fine with the actual dieting, though. No harsh cravings, rarely feel that hungry, etc.
The article abstract has more detail. <a href="http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/mobile/article.aspx?articleid=2517920" rel="nofollow">http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/mobile/article.aspx?articlei...</a><p>The people involved were in the upper range for healthy BMI or into the overweight range. It's not surprising healthier weight makes people happier. This doesn't mean that people of low/medium healthy BMI would be happier on a calorie restrictive diet. It would be interesting to know what the BMI range was at the end of the study. Did they just get people into the low/medium healthy range or did they dip lower than that?<p>More importantly, though, how did they get people to stick with a 25% calorie reduction for 2 years? That's like the holy grail for weight loss research. Almost no one stays with a diet long term.
Whether the findings have merit or not (I'm willing to believe its true), the sticking point is getting people to change even if that change will directly benefit them. As many things culture-bound, you have to start with the young, those already eating are mostly set on the ways and there isn't much of a chance to change them.<p>It's like changing attitudes toward education, spending habits, rules of society, racism, etc. We all will recognize what's better, but will have difficulty executing, either individually or as a society.<p>So, good news, but... how does it help people in practice?
A) marginally less. I can assure you as a borderline anorexic it is not fun to be calorie deprived daily.<p>B) I found the proportion of fruits and vegetables to be much more enlightening in terms of mood improvement, even if the results disappear when looking at the actual study. The clickbait title is annoyingly typical for vice's text "journalism".
> You'd Be Happier If You Ate Less<p>Yes, and the poor would be wealthier if they had more money.<p>What is garbage like this article doing on HN?