Food for thought
Published on Thu., November 20th, 2008
When I had a bad day growing up, I never wanted to talk about it. I just wanted to eat. Bombing a test didn’t warrant discussion, it called for more pizza. The disappointment of unpopularity wasn’t a feeling worth discussing, but rather a feeling worth smothering in mac and cheese.
My childhood experiences are far from unusual. Eating to suit our moods is just one of the complexities of consuming. We do it in search of comfort and we do it when we feel comfortable. We do it to live and live to do it. We do it because of nature and we do it because of nurture. It’s often one of life’s greatest pleasures, but can become one of our biggest problems.
Why do we eat what we eat, how much we eat, and when we eat? Much of what makes us munch remains a mystery, but science is slowly beginning to decode nature.
Comfort eating,
comfortable eating
The comfort food phenomenon isn’t a myth. University of Illinois research shows that people indulge when they’re sad and hold back when they’re happy. In the study, subjects watched two full-length movies, one happy and one sad. Those who sat through the tearjerker ate 28 percent more popcorn than did the crowd that watched the comedy. Further studies found that people in melancholy moods chose to eat M&M’s rather than grapes.
“There’s definitely some psychology here,” says Jennifer Cole, Cornell Food and Brand Lab representative. “One answer is childhood memories of foods you ate when you felt safe, loved, et cetera.”
But the choice between bad and good eating habits on a meal-to-meal basis doesn’t depend solely on your mood. Cornell researchers say people who are generally happy consider their long-term decision-making carefully, and in turn choose healthier options. Less content people are more likely to overlook the big picture, picking foods that might lead to an immediate “bump of euphoria.” That euphoria comes in different forms for different people. For example, Katie Rages, Hutchinson senior, enjoys chocolate as a mood-booster, while Joe Davis, Coventry, Conn., junior, relies on stuffing.
“What you think of as a comfort food and what I think of as a comfort food might vary,” says Ric Steele, associate professor of applied behavioral science. “Each of us has a different reward center and different foods that fulfill our expectations.”
That search for a quick pick-me-up can end regrettably, thanks to our bodies’ natural attraction to sweet and fatty foods. A study on stress and obesity by the University of California found that foods high in carbohydrates and fat can improve a person’s mood by altering the brain’s chemical balance. That’s bad news for anyone hitched to a high-protein diet. Protein can interrupt the mood-improving process, forcing us to choose between healthy and temporarily happy.
But comfort foods don’t lure everyone. Andy Whitehead, Leawood junior, says he doesn’t change his diet when he’s upset. “I don’t really get cravings when I feel bad,” Whitehead says. “I usually find other ways besides food to feel better.”
On the other side of the coin, we also eat when we’re comfortable. According to a study at the University of North Carolina, young married people gain 25 to 50 percent more weight over a five-year period than their single counterparts. Epidemiologist Robert D. Jeffery found that “marriage was associated with a significant two-year weight gain, and divorce with a two-year weight loss.”
But the post-marriage bulge could be as much coincidence as fact. “As we get older, we’re not as active as we were in high school or college with sports, and more sedentary at work,” Cole says. “Many people were able to get away with bad eating habits when they were younger and very active, but it takes its toll when you take the activity factor away.”
Bottom line: Our mood’s control over our appetite isn’t exactly cut-and-dry.
Speeding through
our meals
It’s decided: You’re going to ask her out. You’ve worked up the courage, recited lines in your head, and even washed your jeans. But avoiding awkward verbal stumbling blocks might not be the most crucial part of building a relationship. Often, the food sets the mood. “The restaurant choice can be really important,” says Katie Rages. “If you go to a nice place, it might create a certain expectation. If you do a casual place, things feel totally different.”
That food can make or break a date speaks to its importance in our culture. Meals stand as the centerpieces of many of our celebrations. A fall Saturday wouldn’t be a Saturday without tailgating, and tailgating wouldn’t be tailgating without a grill and a cooler. The “family dinner table” scene became a prominent piece of Americana in the 20th century. Thanksgiving wouldn’t exist—or be much fun—without the focus on food. And believe it or not, paying extra attention to eating could be the key to keeping fit, and our society’s shift from communal eating to quick eating could be one reason for our collective fattening. “When we’re distracted, we tend to eat more,” Steele says. “The gravitation away from the traditional family-style meal has been, to a large degree, responsible for our nation’s obesity problem, especially in children.”
Fast food got its start 92 years ago here in Kansas, when the first White Castle popped up in Wichita. In the 20th century, McDonald’s, Burger King and Chick-fil-A stores took hold across America. From 1929 to 1979, the number of restaurants in America increased by more than 3,000 percent, while the population grew by just 85 percent. All that dining out did a number on Americans’ health. According to the Center for Disease Control, obesity rates in America have doubled in the past 30 years. America’s expanding waistlines can be traced back to our innate want of serotonin-inducing sweets, but it’s likely the product of social changes, as well. “Historically, gatherings with friends have revolved around food,” Cole says. “We just eat too much now, have too many choices and aren’t as active as we were.”
We are what we eat
Genes aren’t the only things we inherit from our parents. While the shapes of our parents do help determine our natural sizes, it’s the traits they teach that make the most indelible mark on our eating habits.
It starts soon after birth, when a mother’s breast milk can influence her child’s preferences. For instance, the breast milk of a mother who eats primarily spicy foods will train a baby to tolerate hotter flavors. Parents continue to program their children’s bodies throughout infancy. Children who are consistently overfed grow accustomed to overfeeding, even if they are taking in more calories than are necessary. “Little kids, presented with a mountain of food, will eat until full,” Steele says. “If a kid is always told, ‘Clean your plate,’ versus ‘Eat until you’re full,’ it affects how much food they consume later in life.” As they grow older, overfed kids will often continue to eat more calories than are necessary or healthy.
As children age, parents still play an influential role. According to a study at the University of Sydney in Australia, kids who were encouraged to eat breakfast daily were less likely to become obese. The same went for kids who frequently sat down to eat dinner with their families. But our extra weight doesn’t fall squarely on our parents’ shoulders. Eating behavior and its corresponding biology can be altered over time by adopting healthier habits.
Getting a head start on training children to like healthy foods can prevent a long adjustment period to fruits and vegetables later in life. According to some studies, altering portion size is the key to changing unhealthy eating, while others say it’s possible to overhaul the brain just by cutting down on bad food over a long period of time. “The human animal will gravitate toward sweet and fatty-type foods,” Steele says. “But that can be overridden.”
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