Lifestyle, diet and optimism

A healthy lifestyle and diet associated with a higher level of optimism

Moderate physical activity, refraining from smoking and moderate alcohol consumption was associated with a high level of optimism. Eating more fruit, vegetables, and whole-grain bread was also related to a higher level of optimism.

Optimistic through healthy living?

Optimism was associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular death, but the underlying mechanisms for this association are unknown. Therefore, the associations of diet and lifestyle with optimism were investigated in the Zutphen Elderly Study. Information on lifestyle, diet and optimism was collected every 5 years in the period 1985-2000.

About the Zutphen Elderly Study

The Zutphen Elderly Study is an extension of the original Zutphen Study with a sample of the same age where detailed information on the diet of all the participants was collected four times between 1985 and 2000.  Read more about the Zutphen (Elderly) Study.

More about healthy aging

From 1984 onwards, additional studies started to examine indicators of healthy ageing in the elderly populations of in the SCS and related studies.


Lifestyle, diet and optimism

A healthy diet, especially eating more fruit, vegetables, and whole grain bread was related to a higher level of optimism.