The aim of the study was to develop and standardize a new questionnaire to examine the relationship between optimism, dietary habits, lifestyle and general health self-assessment. A pilot study was conducted in a sample of 114 individuals of general population in Sparti/Greece. The questionnaire combines a general health self-assessment questionnaire (GHSAQ), the GrLOT-R, the weekly dietary habits, a personal/family medical history and a lifestyle questionnaire. The mean score of GrLOT-R and GHSAQ was found equal to 20.209(±3.817) and 27.482(±4.164) respectively. Higher score on GHSAQ was associated with the frequency of consumption of kiwi (p=0.027), orange (p=0.022), green tea (p=0.044) and raw olive oil (p=0.044). Higher score in GrLOT-R was associated with the frequency of consumption of fruits (p=0.028), pepper (p=0.037), red cabbage (p=0.011) and carrot (p=0.023). GHSAQ and GrLOT-R have acceptable internal validity (Cronbach’s α=0.719 and 0.723 respectively) and a very high Test-Retest reliability (Pearson’s r=0.928 and ICC=0.962 for GHSAQ and Pearson’s r=0.950 and ICC=0.983 for GrLOT-R). The new questionnaire is reliable and valid. High vitamins, antioxidants intake and water consumption seem to influence positively optimism and general health self-assessment
Keywords: Dietary Habits, Health Self-Assessment, Lifestyle, Optimism, Pilot Study, Questionnaire Standardization
