A diet and exercise regimen: its effect upon mental acuity and personality, a pilot study.

Of the 75 patients in the February 1977 "class" at the Longevity Research Institute, Santa Barbara, California, 11 volunteers were pre- and posttested (21- to 23-day intervals) with the MMPI, 13 with the California Psychological Inventory, and 17 with four subtests of the WAIS (total: 21 males, 10 females). Ten of the (total) 32 scales showed changes in the predicted, favorable direction, statistically significant at the .05 level or better by t test. Further the number of scales changing in the predicted, desirable direction for each of the three tests was statistically significant at the .06, and .001, and .06 levels (sign test), respectively. The pilot results indicate improvement in psychological factors and mental acuity within a month's time concomitant with the diet, activity, and educational program and warrant further investigation.