Fruit and veggies pave the road to happiness

A University of Queensland study suggests eating eight or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day not only leads to better physical health but improves mental well-being.

Fruits and vegetables. Photo: Gh. Mănoiu/The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin.

The study, by health economics researcher Dr Redzo Mujcic from UQ’s School of Pharmacy, involved more than 12,000 Australian adults. Dr Mujcic found participants were at their happiest when they ate five portions of fruit and four portions of vegetables each day.

The research found that well-being benefits derived from eating more fruit and vegetables were much higher for women than men, and that solely eating fruit had a greater impact on overall mental health than eating vegetables.

Dr Mujcic said he used data from the annual Household, Income, and Labour Dynamics Australia (HILDA) Survey to answer the age-old questions – are fruit and vegetables good for us? And, how much should we be eating? “The data has been collected from the same set of individuals, aged between 15 and 93, over a two year period on their dietary and lifestyle choices, along with a number of mental and physical health measures,” he said.

Study participants were asked to rate their level of happiness and record their daily consumption of fruit and vegetables. (UQ News)

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