The key to a happy life: eat your veggies and exercise regularly

By Georgia Lambert via SWNS

It is the first time that the link, often cited in health campaigns, has actually been proved.

Researchers at the University of Kent and University of Reading in the UK showed that this lifestyle makes you happy rather than people who are already happy doing it.

Dr. Adelina Gschwandtner at University of Kent’s School of Economics, Dr. Sarah Jewell, and Professor Uma Kambhampati from the University of Reading’s School of Economics used an ‘instrumental variable approach' to filter out any effect from happiness to lifestyle.

The research, published in the Journal of Happiness Studies, demonstrated that our ability to delay gratification and apply self-control plays a huge part in influencing our lifestyle decisions, which in turn, has a positive impact on our wellbeing.

Scientists also confirmed that men appear to exercise more, while women are more likely to eat more fruit and vegetables.

“This research is the first of its kind to unravel the causation of how happiness, the consumption of fruit and vegetables, and exercising are related, rather than generalizing a correlation," said Kambhampati.

"There has been a bigger shift in recent years for healthier lifestyle choices. To establish that eating more fruit and vegetables and exercising can increase happiness as well as offer health benefits is a major development. This may also prove useful for policy campaigns around environment and sustainability."

Because lifestyle-related illnesses are the main cause of poor health worldwide and the UK has one of the highest obesity rates in Europe, these findings could have significant implications for public health policy.

“Behavioral nudges that help the planning self to reinforce long-term objectives are likely to be especially helpful in maintaining a healthy lifestyle," said Dr. Gschwandtner.

“If a better lifestyle not only makes us healthier but also happier, then it is a clear win-win situation.”

You can read the entire study in the Journal of Happiness Studies.