Stress Eating

You might want to hide the food during the evening news.

Thinking about your mortality can trigger stress-fueled snacking.
Quick, think happy thoughts! Thinking about our mortality makes us want to overeat.

A study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that people asked to write essays about their own deaths wanted to buy more groceries and eat more treats than people who wrote about a medical procedure.

The lesson of this study: Don’t go grocery shopping or out to dinner after crafting your will or watching the evening news.

According to the researchers, people become uncomfortable thinking about their mortality and what they’ve accomplished in life. We then try to stuff away the feelings by eating. Emotional eaters and those with low self-esteem are particularly susceptible.