Many people fall victim to emotional eating, but it doesn’t happen only when they’re feeling bad, according to researchers. Having a good day at work, could lead to a candy bar treat, according to Karen Winterich, assistant professor of marketing at Penn State. At other times, positive feelings lead to choosing a healthier option, such as fruit.
Previous research has shown that feeling bad can lead to bad eating choices, but Winterich and Haws show that feeling good doesn’t necessarily lead to good eating choices. The researchers looked at the complicated relationship between positive emotions and food consumption, aiming to determine when positive feelings lead to unhealthy snacking. They teased out the difference between positive feelings – pride and happiness – that arise from thinking about the past or present, and hope.
In the studies they found that participants focusing their positive emotion toward the future consume less unhealthy food and have lower preferences for unhealthy snacks than those whose feelings of pride or happiness are focused on the past. Mumbai Mirror