Exam stress and breakups are notorious for driving people to the ice cream and M&Ms, but did you know that thoughts of mortality can make you hit the Oreos harder as well?
Research from Arizona State University and Erasmus University in the Netherlands observed how many cookies subjects ate while writing an essay on one of two topics: a trip to the dentist or their own death. Those writing about shuffling off their mortal coils ate more cookies than those writing on root canals. The exception? People with high self-esteem, whose consumption was little affected by the essay topic.
The authors hypothesize that people eat to subconsciously escape self-awareness. I think anyone who has ever crammed down another donut in a moment of anxiety or depression (uh, probably all of us) can relate.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-10-2008 @ 5:11PM
Chris said...
This is one of the most poorly controlled studies I have heard. If I was writing an essay about going to the dentist, I might feel guilty about eating sugary snacks and would limit my cookie consumption. The real question is which group had a higher percentage of people that decided to floss that night.
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7-12-2008 @ 4:03PM
sarah said...
yeah, ditto Chris. this is the most badly planned and useless study I could imagine.
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