Women tend to like curl up with comfort foods such as a carton of ice cream when feeling blue. On the other hand, men lean on comfort foods such as steaks, pizza, soups and pasta when feeling upbeat.
So found Cornell University researchers, whose study about comfort foods appeared in the Nov. 15, 2005 issue of Physiology & Behavior.
Interestingly, the triggers and the foods they eat are different for men and women.
Women are slightly more likely to turn to comfort foods high in fat and sugar like cakes and ice cream when they’re feeling lonely, guilty and depressed — in short, their consumption is "triggered by negative effects," the study finds.
On the other hand, men pick steaks, pasta and soups when motivated by positive emotions.
The study, which was conducted with researchers from McGill University in Canada, was drawn from a Web-based survey of 277 people.
One of the intriguing findings is that "women were 50 percent more likely than men to admit feeling guilty about indulging in comfort foods," the New York Times reported.
"At the same time, 40 percent of female respondents picked high-calorie sweet foods, while the same was true for 35 percent of men."
This study was intriguing, but I’m puzzled by the finding that "Foods high in sugar and fat content were more efficient in alleviating negative affects whereas low-calorie foods were more efficient in increasing positive emotions."
I just don’t know how researchers arrived at the first part of that conclusion. Sure, studies show that women do tend to turn to sweet, fatty foods when down in the dumps, but doing so doesn’t get rid of the mood lows. Quite the opposite.
Indeed, eating sweets and simple carbs can bring on the blues. Sugary snacks do NOT make people feel better over the long haul, as numerous studies have shown. Just ask members of my free, online KickSugar group.
On the other hand, the fact that researchers found low-calorie foods better able to lift moods makes sense. Healthy foods can ultimately make you feel happier and become more healthy.
One thought on “Women Like Sugar for Comfort; Men Go for Meat”
Hi Connie,
As a male who turns to sweet foods for comfort, I am not so sure about this research. I think it may have more to do with a person’s body type.
Some people – male or female – like sweet food for comfort or to relieve stress – while other like meat and salty foods etc.
Have you heard of Dr Abravenal’s body type diet. he says ‘thyroid’ types like sweets and ‘adrenal types prefer meat and salty foods etc. Also a couple of other body types – ‘pituitary’ prefers dairy products and ‘gonada’ (women only) like spicy and oil foods.
I just throw this in for interest or debate.
Chris
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