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Do you find unhealthy foods effecting the way you feel, sometimes making you sluggish,
weak, and upset; while healthy foods seem to make you more energetic and improve
mood? Researchers point to basic functional principles underlying the relations between
emotions and biologically based motives(Gardner). We wanted to get the answer to the
following questions: Does the amount of hunger before consumption affect our mood afterward?
Is there a correlation between healthy food and mood? Does our mood depend on our schedule
for the day if the food choice plays a factor into it? In our experiment we were able to find
answers to all of the following question they are not accurate for all individuals since results did
vary. We conducted a social experiment to see if this is true, and if so, why foods have such
dramatic effects on mood. Our experiment did allow us into some insight about how food plays
a vital role in our mood.
Method
Participants
The experimenters were the participants in this study. The three of us conducted the
experiments and monitored ourselves accordingly. We are 18 year old female college students,
all of different races and ethnicity. The participants, previous to the experiment, were to change
nothing about their diets and eat as they normally would. The participants previous diets, were
very standard American diets, consisting of: the occasional fast food, breads, fried foods,
vegetables, sodas, and meat with every meal. Previous to the experiment, none of the
participants thought about the kinds of foods they put in their bodies, or the types of
consequences or negative effects these foods would have on their moods.
Measurements
Table 1
Table 2
Procedures
Each participants was to eat nothing but healthy foods for a whole week. Healthy foods
were defined as foods that were not fried or from fast food restaurants (with the exception of
healthy alternatives). The participants could not drink soda, eat candy, or consume more than
120 grams of carbohydrates each day. Vegetables, fruits (in moderation), baked, and grilled
foods were the only foods allowed to be eaten. The participants kept a journal of what they ate,
why they are, and what their emotions were. The reason behind this was to see if eating healthier
would affect our moods. The participants were to record their thoughts of the day and their
emotions for the day. As the week progresses it becomes easy to track the change in the way the
diet affects the participants.
Example of Chart used by Participants:
Food Eaten
Reason for
eating
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Results:
Food Records
Emotions
Food Eaten
Thoughts
Emotion
Monday
aggrivated
stressed
angery
tired
Tuesday
cereal
chicken tenders
carrots
Rotisserie chicken
potatoes
green beans
angry
aggrivated
Wednesday
squash
zucchini
roast beef
potatoes
bread
salad
Beginning to feel
more energetic
still some patches of
frustration
energetc
more soothed
Thursday
energetic
Friday
chicken sandwich
steak
green beans
salad
happy, surprisingly
motivated
hapy
motivsted
Saturday
eggs
bacon
turkey sandwich
chips
salsa
Happy
energetic
motiveted
Sunday
eggs
bacon
turkey sandwich
baked chicken
green beans
satsified
happy
Monday
chicken
potatoes
salad
baked pork loin
green beans
motivated
happy
not stressed at all
Tuesday
eggs
sausage
chicken wrap
turkey
dressing
hapy
relaxed
motivated
at ease
Food Eaten
Thoughts
Emotions
Monday
Cereal
Chips
Crackers
Chicken Pasta Soup
Content
Tuesday
Egg McMuffin
Nuggets
Shake
Happy
Wednesday
Grilled Chicken
Hungry
Satisfied
Special K Cereal
Thursday
Hunger
Satisfied
Friday
Chinese Food
My health was
declining rapidly.
energetic
Saturday
Salad
Quesadilla
Everyone ordered
food at the restaraunt.
Satisfied
Sunday
Pupusa
Half a Torta
Emapanda
Stress
Happy
Monday
Granola Bar
Salad
Celery Smoothie
Hungry.
Energized
Tuesday
Meatball
Cravings
Content
Food Eaten
Thoughts
Emotions
Monday
Egg Sandwich
Salad
Granola Bar
Grilled chicken,
broccoli
Angry/Upset/Aggitate
d because when I am
stressed I really want
Tuesday
Hungry
Content
Granola,yogurt,
berries
Salad
Soup
Grilled chicken wrap
Wednesday
Egg Sandwich
Chicken wrap
Beef Stew
Stress
Thursday
Granola, yogurt,
berries
Chicken wrap
Grilled chicken
broccoli
Friday
Egg Sandwich
Soup
wasabi peas
Beef stew
Saturday
Granola, milk
Soup
Salad
Sunday
Egg Sandwich
Soup
granola, yogurt,
berries
Beef stew
Monday
Eggs, bread
smoothie
Chicken, broccoli,
sweet potatoes
Tuesday
Smoothie
Chicken. spotatotatoe
fries,
After analyzing the data the conclusion was reached that what you consume does affect
your mood. At the beginning of the experiment all of the participants felt a variety of negative
emotions, including anger and frustration. This was due to the drastic change in everyday life
and diet. The participants found it very difficult to restrain from eating out of boredom and
stress. It was also very stressful to convert from eating fried unhealthy foods to eating healthy
foods. This frustration lasted roughly two days among all participants, after this the participants
began to feel more energetic and lighter. They were less stressed and they were not easily upset
or aggravated in the later days, although in the middle of the week they still experienced some
moments of frustration when trying to find alternatives in snacks and foods.
At the end of the week the want to snack out of boredom and stress was over, and the
participants found it much easier to stick to a healthy diet as they got used to eating these foods
every day. They found themselves happier and more energetic, motivated, and happy at the end
of the experiment. They found that their new diet was like second nature and was easily
adaptable.
Discussion
The experiment demonstrated the popular belief that your mood is influenced by diet. In
a study done by The British Psychology Society they concluded that There is a growing
evidence that a diet rich in fruits and vegetables (FV) is related to greater happiness, life
satisfaction, and positive affect (Conner, Brookie, Richardson and, Polak, 2014, pg. 1).
Individuals that eat healthy foods have a better overall mood than individuals that constantly eat
unhealthy/junk food. This was evident in the descriptions of moods after the food was eaten.
Negative emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness may increase impulsive eating (i.e. fast and
irregular eating directed at any food available), eating to regulate the emotional state and
consumption of junk food, but decrease food pleasantness. By contrast, joy and other positive
emotions increase food pleasantness and consumption of healthy foods (Macht, 2007, pg. 4).
This is shown in the participants behaviors. When the participants were stressed, angry, or
agitated they were more likely to become angry that they have to eat healthy foods. When the
participants were happy, they were content with the fact that they could only eat healthy. Positive
moods trigger a more healthier diet as suggested by the Journal of Consumer Psychology
Fedorikhin and Patrick (2010) also showed that, given a choice between chocolate candies and
grapes, individuals in a positive mood were more likely to eat grapes than those in a neutral
mood (Gardner, Wansink, Kim and, Park, 2014, pg. 1-2).
References
Conner, T. S., Brookie, K. L., Richardson, A. C., & Polak, M. A. (2014, July 30). Result Filters.
Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25080035
Gardner, M. P., Wansink, B., Kim, J., & Park, S. (2014, January 25). Download PDFs. Retrieved
from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1057740814000060
Macht, M. (2007, July 16). Download PDFs. Retrieved from
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0195666307003236