The concept of well-being: relevance to nutritional research

Smith, Andrew Paul ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8805-8028 2005. The concept of well-being: relevance to nutritional research. British Journal of Nutrition 93 (S1) , S1-S5. 10.1079/BJN20041351

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to discuss issues that fall within the general concept of well-being, with special emphasis on approaches that have been used in studies of nutrition and behaviour. Following this, two specific studies are described in detail, the first examining high-fibre breakfast cereals and the second investigating effects of inulin. Studies of nutrition and well-being can be categorised in a number of ways. One method involves examining acute effects of nutrition on mood and cognitive functioning. Another method has been to examine cross-sectional associations between dietary habits and questionnaire measures of reported health. Examples are given showing that regular consumption of a high-fibre diet is associated with better-reported physical and mental health. The problem with such correlational studies is that it is impossible to infer causality. Intervention studies are necessary to achieve this and some examples of this approach are given. In the first study reported here, we examined whether consumption of high-fibre breakfast cereal led to an increase in energy. Such an effect was observed and plausible biological mechanisms underlying such results are described. A similar methodology has recently been used to examine the effects of inulin. In this case the results showed no negative side-effects of taking inulin but there were no beneficial effects of inulin on measures of well-being (both subjective reports and objective measures). Possible reasons for these effects are discussed.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Well-being; Fibre; Inulin
Publisher:	Nuitrition Society
ISSN:	0007-1145
Last Modified:	17 Oct 2022 09:30
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/3398

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item