With obesity rates sky-rocketing, it’s obvious the affects of a poor diet and processed foods have the physical health of a body, but what about the mental health of the body..? Does unhealthy eating cause unhappiness?
Drew Ramsey, a psychiatrist, says when he meets new patients he can already predict what their diet consists of – high in sugars, refined carbohydrates, and industrial vegetable fats, which does nothing good for people’s mental health. It’s no secret that obesity levels of Americans are higher than ever before, but mental diseases like dementia and depression are also rising. Is the American diet to blame for this, too? Processed foods are stripped of all the nutrients our bodies most definitely need. We’re being overfed and undernourished. One study found that Americans whose diets consist of low-quality junk food are 79% more likely to be diagnosed with depression. Another study showed that women whose diets consisted of high levels of omega-3 fats (healthy fats) were less likely to suffer from depression.
But this proposes more questions.. could their be other variables, besides an unhealthy diet that cause unhappiness? It’s no secret that junk food is faster to eat and cheaper than healthy or organic foods. So, the people buying these foods regularly might be making a low income or be stressed out from their overbooked schedules, which both could cause unhappiness. As a result, I think there’s no way to prove that an unhealthy diet directly causes unhappiness; however, there is definitely a correlation and it might be a factor to be aware of when choosing what to eat.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/drew-ramsey-md/food-mental-health_b_1703007.html
I think an unhealthy diet could cause unhappiness due to other variables, as you suggested. Those who eat unhealthily are usually poor, and those who are low class are usually less happy. Even though everyone says “poor people are some of the happiest people”, it is actually not true. I wrote a blog post about it! Here it is.http://sites.psu.edu/siowfa14/2014/10/24/money-buys-happiness-to-an-extent/
Physical appearance could be a third variable that causes unhappiness. As they (people who have a unhealthy diet, low income etc) eat unhealthy food, they will gain weight which will modify their physical appearance which can cause unhappiness. And since in our society people are really concerned about their image and the way they look, those people will feel pressured and unhappy because of the way they look and the way people look at them.
http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/depression-and-weight-connection this article asks
“But do people gain weight because they are depressed? Or do they become depressed because of the excess pounds they are carrying? No one knows.” it would be interesting to do some research about that.
Good post!!
I personally think unhappiness leads to unhealthy eating. I do not think happy people who are eating unhealthy will just because said as a result of what they are eating. Their life situation as you said low income could mean they are struggling in many areas of their life which causes them to eat badly. We all know stress eating can be very dangerous! Here are some things about eating to avoid when you are stressed or depressed…http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/depression-food-traps?page=2.