Fruit
and vegetable consumption could be as good for your mental as your physical
health
Fruit and vegetable consumption could be as good for your mental
as your physical health, new research suggests.
The research, conducted by the University of Warwick's Medical
School using data from the Health Survey for England, and published by BMJ
Open focused on mental wellbeing and found that high and low mental
wellbeing were consistently associated with an individual's fruit and vegetable
consumption.
33.5% of respondents with high mental wellbeing ate five or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day, compared with only 6.8% who ate less than one portion. Commenting on the findings Dr Saverio Stranges, the research paper's lead author, said: "The data suggest that higher an individual's fruit and vegetable intake the lower the chance of their having low mental wellbeing."
31.4% of those with high mental wellbeing ate three-four
portions and 28.4% ate one-two.
Other health-related behaviours were found to be associated with
mental wellbeing, but along with smoking only fruit and vegetable consumption
was consistently associated in both men and women. Alcohol intake and obesity
were not associated with high mental wellbeing.
Commenting on the findings Dr Saverio Stranges, the research
paper's lead author, said: "Along with smoking, fruit and vegetable
consumption was the health-related behaviour most consistently associated with
both low and high mental wellbeing. These novel findings suggest that fruit and
vegetable intake may play a potential role as a driver, not just of physical,
but also of mental wellbeing in the general population."
Low mental wellbeing is strongly linked to mental illness and
mental health problems, but high mental wellbeing is more than the absence of
symptoms or illness; it is a state in which people feel good and function well.
Optimism, happiness, self-esteem, resilience and good relationships with others
are all part of this state. Mental wellbeing is important not just to protect
people from mental illness but because it protects people against common and
serious physical diseases.
Discussing the implications of the research, co-author Professor
Sarah Stewart-Brown says that: "Mental illness is hugely costly to both
the individual and society, and mental wellbeing underpins many physical
diseases, unhealthy lifestyles and social inequalities in health. It has become
very important that we begin to research the factors that enable people to
maintain a sense of wellbeing.
"Our findings add to the mounting evidence that fruit and
vegetable intake could be one such factor and mean that people are likely to be
able to enhance their mental wellbeing at the same time as preventing heart
disease and cancer."
Mental wellbeing was assessed using the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental
Wellbeing Scale (WEMWBS), in which the top 15% of participants categorised as
having High mental wellbeing, the bottom 15% Low and the middle 16-84% as
Middle.
The research involved 14,000 participants in England aged 16 or
over, with 56% of those being female and 44% male, as part of the Health Survey
for England -- which saw detailed information collected on mental and physical
health, health related behaviours, demographics and socio-economic
characteristics.
Story Source:
The above story is based on materials provided by University of Warwick. Note:
Materials may be edited for content and length.
Journal Reference:
S. Stranges, P. C. Samaraweera, F. Taggart, N.-B. Kandala, S.
Stewart-Brown.Major health-related behaviours and mental well-being in the
general population: the Health Survey for England. BMJ Open, 2014;
4 (9): e005878 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2014-005878
Cite This Page:
University of Warwick. "Fruit and vegetable consumption
could be as good for your mental as your physical health." Science Daily,
23 September 2014.
<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/09/140923085945.htm>.
