The Nutritional Values and Food Group Characteristics of Foods Preferred During Various Emotions

One hundred university students were asked to indicate the foods they would prefer when experiencing 22 common emotions. The preferences were categorized in terms of nutritional values and were also tallied in terms of the four basic food groups. Application of Cochran's Q Test showed that there were highly significant differences among emotions in the frequencies of preferences for foods of different nutritional values and the frequencies of preferences among the food groups. The chi square test showed that for all but eight emotions, the frequencies were significantly larger for healthy than for junk foods. The results are discussed with reference to emotional needs and diet selection.