Mood and Eating Behaviour - Studies

Garg et al (2007) 

Procedure

- Observed the food choices of 38 participants who watched either a funny movie or sad one.
- Participants were offered buttered popcorn and seedless grapes.

Findings

- Those watching the sad film consumed 36% more popcorn than those watching the funny film.
- People watching the funny film ate far more grapes than the other group.
- People who feel sad want to 'jolt themselves out of the dumps' and are more likely to want a anck that will give them a sudden rush of euphoria.
- Happy people choose healthy foods.

When people were presented with the nutritional value beforehand, consumption of unhealthy foods dropped dramatically. 

Parker et al (2006)

Found that, although chocolate has a slight antidepressant effect, when consumed as an emotional eating strategy, it is more likely to prolong rather than alleviate the negative mood. 

Wolff et al (2000)

Procedure

- Investigated differences between 20 female bing eaters and 20 female normal eaters.
- Daily measures of mood, coping and eating behaviour were self-recorded for three weeks.

Findings

- Binge group reported more stress and negative moods but stress levels were similar on their binge and non-binge days.
- Negative mood states are related to abnormal eating practices such as binge eating.