Scientists: Obesity Lurks Happy People

2024 Author: Jasmine Walkman | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 08:29

Many people overeatbecause they are happy, according to a new study. So far the so-called food for comfort is associated with negative feelings: depression, boredom, loneliness and anxiety. However, experts believe that emotional individuals are actually more likely to swallow unhealthy snacks when they feel happier than sad.

The results obtained by a team of Dutch psychologists show that happy food is significantly underestimated as a risk factor in the global obesity epidemic. Emotional eating is recognized as one of the reasons why people try to keep their weight under control. During stress, food can provide short-term comfort. Experts believe that up to 75% of the phenomenon of overeating is caused by emotions and overeating with harmful snacks, which are used as a back in the unstable state of mind.

However, researchers at the University of Maastricht in the Netherlands have studied whether consumers who are in a bad mood and cram in junk food do not have the same need when they are in a good mood. The organizers recruit 87 students who assess their eating habits and mental health with a well-designed questionnaire designed for individual assessment. They then conducted a series of experiments in which students received excerpts from various movies or television shows in order to evoke a positive, neutral, or negative mood.

For example, to improve mood, the researchers showed two videos. One is a comedy with Mr. Bean starring Rowan Atkinson, where he copies his neighbor's answers during an exam. The other video is a classic scene from the comedy When Harry Met Sally, where Meg Ryan mimics an orgasm in front of restaurant guests.

To put students in a neutral mood, they were shown a piece of a fishing documentary. And for the negative feelings, they watched an excerpt from the movie The Green Road with Tom Hanks, where an innocent man was executed in an electric chair.

Immediately after watching the videos, the volunteers received large glass cups with different chips and different types of chocolates. The researchers measured total caloric intake after each episode.

The results show that, contrary to expectations, those who are classified as emotional eat more after watching positive scenes than negative ones. In the report on the results of the experiment, the scientists concluded: Emotional food is associated with negative mood. However, the volunteers did not overeat in response to negative emotions, but do so in response to positive ones. These results may have value in the treatment of obesity. They emphasize the importance of positive emotions in overeating, which are often underestimated, reports the Daily Mail.