An American study shatters a myth: food does not comfort people in depression.
If, like Bridget Jones, you gobble up a bar of chocolate or a pot of ice cream to recover from a heartache, prepare to be disappointed: a study published in Health psychology and led by researchers at the University of Minnesota shows that, despite popular belief, cakes, candies, chips or burgers will not make you feel spleen.
In order to obtain these results, the researchers first asked 100 people what food they particularly liked to eat when depressed. Chocolate emerged as the most popular (26% of respondents named it first), followed by ice cream (18%) and cookies (16%).
Impact of food on mood
Next, participants watched 18 minutes of a film considered depressing (Sophie’s Choice, Armageddon, Where Minesweepers), and completed a questionnaire on their mood: all said they felt “depressed” or “anxious”.
Finally, the participants were divided into 4 groups: the first was able to eat the food that cheered him up, the second ate food that he considered good but not particularly comforting (almonds, peanuts, popcorn). The third got only a simple cereal bar and the last got nothing at all.
And the results collapse the myth of “comfort food”: the morale of all participants improved regardless of whether they ate or not. So no need for chocolate or ice cream when you have the blues.
This discovery will not only interest the Bridget Jones who sleeps in us: the research was, in fact, funded by NASA, in the hope of improving the morale of the astronauts during their mission. They tend to lose weight in space, due to a particularly stressful job but also vacuum-packed food which is not always very tasty.
It will therefore not be necessary to put rations of chocolate for the astronauts who will perhaps one day leave for Mars.
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