Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between food and well-being. It was expected that food based on Mediterranean diet would positively predict psychological well-being. To test these hypotheses 69 participants were administered a survey exploring their dietary patterns in the past 24 hours in nine domains: red meat, fish, chicken, green vegetables, legumes, fruits, sweets, whole grains, and cheese and two well-being questionnaires: The Orientations to Happiness Questionnaire and Ryff’s Psychological Well-being scale to assess hedonic and eudaimonic well-being respectively. Two multiple regressions were run to test the hypotheses about the positive link between diet and well-being, as well as two alternative regressions using data from 48 participants who indicated that the food they ate in the past 24-hours were indicative of their normal diet. Results of the analyses did not support the hypotheses, that is, food intake did neither predict hedonic nor eudaimonic well-being. It is highly conceivable that lack of significant result may be due to low sample size and therefore low power.
