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Is psychological well-being linked to the consumption of fruit and vegetables?
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Blanchflower, David G. , Oswald, Andrew J. and Stewart-Brown, Sarah L. (2012) Is psychological well-being linked to the consumption of fruit and vegetables? Working Paper. Coventry: Economics Department, University of Warwick. Warwick economics research paper series (TWERPS), Volume 2012 (Number 996). (Unpublished)
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Text (Working paper)
WRAP_Oswald_twerp_996.pdf - Other Download (653Kb) | Preview |
Official URL: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/soc/economics/resear...
Abstract
Humans run on a fuel called food. Yet economists and other social scientists rarely study what people eat. We provide simple evidence consistent with the existence of a
link between the consumption of fruit and vegetables and high well-being. In crosssectional data, happiness and mental health rise in an approximately dose-response
way with the number of daily portions of fruit and vegetables. The pattern is remarkably robust to adjustment for a large number of other demographic, social and economic variables. Well-being peaks at approximately 7 portions per day. We document this relationship in three data sets, covering approximately 80,000 randomly selected British individuals, and for seven measures of well-being (life satisfaction, WEMWBS mental well-being, GHQ mental disorders, self-reported health, happiness, nervousness, and feeling low). Reverse causality and problems of confounding remain possible. We discuss the strengths and weaknesses of our analysis, how government policy-makers might wish to react to it, and what kinds of further research -- especially randomized trials -- would be valuable.
Item Type: | Working or Discussion Paper (Working Paper) | ||||
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Subjects: | H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HM Sociology |
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Divisions: | Faculty of Social Sciences > Economics Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School > Health Sciences > Mental Health and Wellbeing Faculty of Science, Engineering and Medicine > Medicine > Warwick Medical School |
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Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH): | Vegtables -- Health aspects, Fruit -- Health aspects, Economic surveys -- Great Britain, Economics -- Sociological aspects, Consumption (Economics) -- Great Britain, Mental health -- Nutritional aspects, Public health -- Research, Health planning | ||||
Series Name: | Warwick economics research paper series (TWERPS) | ||||
Publisher: | Economics Department, University of Warwick | ||||
Place of Publication: | Coventry | ||||
Official Date: | 2012 | ||||
Dates: |
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Volume: | Volume 2012 | ||||
Number: | Number 996 | ||||
Number of Pages: | 25 | ||||
Status: | Not Peer Reviewed | ||||
Publication Status: | Unpublished | ||||
Access rights to Published version: | Open Access (Creative Commons) |
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