Eating for happiness: Study connects women’s diet quality with mental well-being

08 Mar 2024 --- Recent research from Ireland highlights the importance of addressing physical health to improve psychological well-being. It also indicates a notable link between a higher body mass index (BMI) and mental health challenges, particularly among middle-aged and older women.

“Diets that are high in sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, red meat and added fats are more likely to lead to overweight and obesity,” study co-author Seán R. Millar, PhD, research support officer at the Health Research Board Evidence Centre and post-doctoral researcher at the University College Cork, Ireland, tells Nutrition Insight. “The Results do indicate that study participants with poorer dietary quality were more likely to have a higher BMI.”

“We suggest that targeted interventions for reducing depression should include better population-level weight management measures. As weight and diet are highly correlated, prevention measures should include the promotion of healthy diets,” he asserts. 

Diets rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy foods may be important for mental health. Adiposity and mental health
The cross-sectional study published in PLoS ONE randomly selected 1,821 men and women aged 46–73 years and explores the associations between adiposity measures and depression and well-being scores.

Depression and well-being were tested through a 20-item Centre for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) and the World Health Organization-Five (WHO-5) Well-Being Index. 

The researchers also conducted linear regression analyses to examine relationships between mental health scores and adiposity-defined BMI and waist-height ratio, adjusting for demographic characteristics, lifestyle factors and disease conditions.

“Although we found consistent and significant relationships between increased adiposity and a greater number of depressive symptoms in both male and female study participants, the relationship was noticeably stronger in females,” Millar explains. 

Improving diet and well-being
In light of the link between heightened BMI and poorer mental health, the scholar acknowledges the significance of diet and nutrition.

 “While we did not specifically examine the relationship between diet quality (or individual nutrients) with depressive symptoms in this study, previous research by our group did assess diet quality relationships with depressive symptoms. Findings suggested that pro-inflammatory dietary patterns are related to adverse mental health,” Millar highlights.

 “Diets that are rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low-fat dairy foods and are restricted in sugar-sweetened foods and beverages, red meat and added fats may be important for mental health both for maintaining a healthy weight and through their anti-inflammatory properties,” he details. 

Meanwhile, a study conducted last year in South Korea found that ultra-processed food-based diets result in a higher chance of depression among women.

By Milana Nikolova