Losing Weight Won't Make You Happier, but Eating Healthy Just Might

If you want to be happier, a new study suggests that a drastic diet isn't what you need. Even if you reach your dream weight, researchers say, there's no evidence you'll be any happier. The good news? You can improve your mental health and mood by starting to eat healthy, even if the number on the scale stays the same.

Over the past decade, numerous studies have found that a healthy diet helps prevent depression—and can even aid recovery from existing depression. It has also been found that the link between diet and depression is independent of weight. What matters is the food consumed, not the clothing size. This message was reinforced in a first-of-its-kind study where participants were asked to eat according to a healthier diet plan for 3 months. Most participants were overweight and remained so at the end of the experiment. Nonetheless, those who adhered to the instructions and consumed a healthier diet reported a significant improvement in their mental symptoms, with depression disappearing entirely in one-third of them.

Of course, maintaining a healthy weight is important for physical health. However, what such research reveals, say the researchers, is that even though excess weight is a risk factor for depression, a good diet can prevent depression even if the weight doesn’t change. The biological explanation for this is still not entirely clear, but it appears that a diet rich in fruits, vegetables, and dietary fiber improves, for example, gut bacteria health, which is known to affect the brain and nervous system—and thus, a person's mental state improves even without losing a single gram of weight. Unlike weight loss, which is a long-term goal, the improvement in mental state from healthy eating is felt quite quickly.