
You'd Be Happier If You Ate Less - susan_hall
http://www.vice.com/read/if-you-want-to-be-happier-just-eat-less
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bonniemuffin
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.

"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."

But I guess "happy people are more likely to eat well" isn't a very
interesting headline....

~~~
kidmenot
Yeah, well... you know, it's a _vice.com_ article we're talking about here.

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jimrandomh
No, this is false. Spreading this idea is very harmful, please stop.

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.

~~~
codingdave
I hate to ask the silly question of "Did you read the article?", but it
specifically said to eat more fruits and veggies, and all caloric restriction
was done "with regular nutrition consultations to keep them on track".

Nothing in the article recommended eating low quality foods.

~~~
jimrandomh
Yes, I did read it and saw that the part of the intervention that actually
worked was changing diet content rather than quantity. But the headline is
"you'd be happier if you ate less", and that is a false and pernicious
statement.

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larrik
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.

I'm doing fine with the actual dieting, though. No harsh cravings, rarely feel
that hungry, etc.

~~~
hasmolo
I can tell you for me it really did make a change, but it took me about 6
months to really feel it.

In October 2015 I was at +110 pounds from today and had to take indigestion
medicine to sleep at night, as I gradually changed my diet they became less
and less needed. Eventually I discovered I don't need them at all anymore.

Now I find myself craving 'healthier' meals. Most nights for dinner I have
greek yogurt, apples, pears, berries, and a little cheese. I honestly couldn't
feel better.

A few nights ago I decided to eat one of my old favorite snacks, Cheetos and
was left feeling hungover in the morning. I know it's anecdotal evidence, but
my experience is the lifting of depression was very gradual and in the last
three months or so I've been in the best over all mood of my life.

Keep the diet up and try your hardest to find an exercise that doesn't feel
like work. Mine was biking, and I firmly believe that to be my source of
happiness in life along with a clean diet and good health.

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dpark
The article abstract has more detail.
[http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/mobile/article.aspx?articlei...](http://archinte.jamanetwork.com/mobile/article.aspx?articleid=2517920)

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?

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.

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mc32
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.

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.

So, good news, but... how does it help people in practice?

~~~
saiya-jin
I fail to accept the notion that people are stupid sheepish weaklings that
have no willpower over their own body and mind. Some might believe this and
then act in this fashion, but most have the potential to do almost any change
with their life, be it eating habits or something else.

I stopped smoking after university, not easy but perfectly doable. That was 12
years ago. No cravings anymore or any thoughts. Detest the smell like all
others (that's actually easy part). Same for very good friend, he never
touched cigarette and he was quite a smoker back then, till one day when he
stopped just out of blue. And we're nothing special, just common folks. If we
could do it, most can do it too. But not with the attitude you describe,
that's for sure.

Let's not try to save humanity in the first step, and just focus on yourself.
Self-discipline is not a curse word, it means a lot of mental strength and
power in long run

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duaneb
A) marginally less. I can assure you as a borderline anorexic it is not fun to
be calorie deprived daily.

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".

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2T1Qka0rEiPr
Did they account for the likely correlation between wealth and fruit
consumption?

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jackmaney
> You'd Be Happier If You Ate Less

Yes, and the poor would be wealthier if they had more money.

What is garbage like this article doing on HN?

