Consuming fruit and vegetables and exercising can make you happier


Date:
September 16, 2021
Source:
University of Kent
Summary:
New research led by the University of Kent and University of Reading
has found that fruit and vegetable consumption and exercise can
increase levels of happiness.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
New research led by the University of Kent and University of Reading
has found that fruit and vegetable consumption and exercise can increase
levels of happiness.


========================================================================== While the link between lifestyle and wellbeing has been previously
documented and often used in public health campaigns to encourage
healthier diets and exercise, new findings published by the Journal
of Happiness Studies show that there is also a positive causation from lifestyle to life satisfaction.

This research is the first of its kind to unravel the causation of
how happiness, the consumption of fruit and vegetables and exercising
are related, rather than generalising a correlation. The researchers,
Dr Adelina Gschwandtner (University of Kent's School of Economics), Dr
Sarah Jewell and Professor Uma Kambhampati (both from the University of Reading's School of Economics), used an instrumental variable approach
to filter out any effect from happiness to lifestyle. It showed that it
is rather the consumption of fruit and vegetables and exercising that
makes people happy and not the other way round.

Findings demonstrate that the ability of individuals to delay
gratification and apply self-control plays a major role in influencing lifestyle decisions, which in turn has a positive impact on wellbeing. The research also shows that men appear to exercise more, and women eat more
fruit and vegetables.

With it being well known that lifestyle diseases are a leading cause
of ill health and mortality worldwide, and the UK having one of the
highest obesity rates in Europe, these findings could have significant implications for public health policy.

Dr Gschwandtner said: 'Behavioural nudges that help the planning self to reinforce long-term objectives are likely to be especially helpful in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. If a better lifestyle not only makes
us healthier but also happier, then it is a clear win-win situation.'
Professor Kambhampati said: 'There has been a bigger shift in recent
years for healthier lifestyle choices. To establish that eating more
fruit and vegetables and exercising can increase happiness as well
as offer health benefits is a major development. This may also prove
useful for policy campaigns around environment and sustainability.' ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Kent. Original written
by Olivia Miller.

Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Adelina Gschwandtner, Sarah Jewell, Uma S. Kambhampati. Lifestyle
and
Life Satisfaction: The Role of Delayed Gratification. Journal of
Happiness Studies, 2021; DOI: 10.1007/s10902-021-00440-y ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210916142936.htm

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