Young adults who eat poorly and feel depressed might be able to improve symptoms by switching to a healthier diet, a small Australian study suggests.

In a randomised trial, men and women aged 17-35 who switched to a healthier diet had fewer depression symptoms after three weeks.

And those who kept up the healthy eating for three months continued to show improvement, researchers reported in PLOS ONE.

Researchers from Macquarie University in Sydney studied 76 people who scored high on two depression and anxiety scales — indicating moderate or high depression symptoms — and who also scored high on a questionnaire about dietary fat and sugar consumption.