Is your favorite football team making you gain weight?
Let’s face it: not everyone’s football team is going to the Superbowl. Some teams just stink this season–or have for a number of seasons, but that doesn’t mean the stands are empty when they play the game. In fact, football fans are notoriously loyal even when their favorite team is having a losing streak; so loyal they paint their bodies and stand naked in extreme weather just to show support. As it turns out, these loyal fans may be paying a price for their allegiance–that of weight gain. SEE ALSO: 5 habits that spoil your healthy lifestyle and make you gain weight According to research published in the journal Psychological Science, fans of losing football teams tend to binge eat and consume unhealthy food choices. One day after a defeat, Americans eat 16 percent more saturated fat, and 10 percent more calories,” study author Professor Pierre Chandon told USA Today. “But on the day after a victory of their favorite team, then its the opposite. They eat more healthily. They eat 9 percent less saturated fat, and 5 percent fewer calories. There was no effect in cities without a team or with a team that didnt play. The relationship between food and loss is not a new one, though it is the first time sports fans have been specifically pinpointed in the United States. Food has long been acknowledged as a way people cope in a process called ‘emotional eating.’ People sometimes turn to food as a way to block out negative feelings and emotions. The Mayo Clinic states food provides immediate satisfaction and distraction, and for most people unhealthy, tasty food is readily accessible. The problem is not just the occasional food binge. The issue occurs when people who are dealing with chronic negative emotions realize that food only temporarily relieves their feelings. As soon as they start feeling down again, they turn to food. One cookie might not kill your diet, but 20 will. In this study, we looked at the slippery slope from Fan to Fat. And we found that after a defeat of their favorite football team, people eat more, and [what they choose to eat are] more fatty foods. But after a victory of their favorite football team, people eat less, and healthier foods, Chandon told INSEAD Knowledge in an interview. “Very interestingly, we found the effects were the same for men and women.” SEE ALSO: How to combat winter weight gain To combat this weight gain associated with losing sports teams, the Mayo Clinic indicates the first step is to eliminate temptation. It may seem standard to have pizza, chips and wings during a game, but healthier snacks will keep your waist trim if you do overeat after a game. Keeping a food diary can also help, making you aware of just how poorly your food choices are following game day. Other sports fans aren’t in the clear, either. Just because football was the sport indicated in the research doesn’t mean other team events don’t have the same issue. Wherever dedicated fans are, unhealthy food choices are sure to follow.The post Is your favorite football team making you gain weight? appeared first on Voxxi.
Let’s face it: not everyone’s football team is going to the Superbowl. Some teams just stink this season–or have for a number of seasons, but that doesn’t mean the stands are empty when they play the game. In fact, football fans are notoriously loyal even when their favorite team is having a losing streak; so loyal they paint their bodies and stand naked in extreme weather just to show support.
As it turns out, these loyal fans may be paying a price for their allegiance–that of weight gain.
SEE ALSO: 5 habits that spoil your healthy lifestyle and make you gain weight
According to research published in the journal Psychological Science, fans of losing football teams tend to binge eat and consume unhealthy food choices. One day after a defeat, Americans eat 16 percent more saturated fat, and 10 percent more calories,” study author Professor Pierre Chandon told USA Today. “But on the day after a victory of their favorite team, then its the opposite. They eat more healthily. They eat 9 percent less saturated fat, and 5 percent fewer calories. There was no effect in cities without a team or with a team that didnt play.
The relationship between food and loss is not a new one, though it is the first time sports fans have been specifically pinpointed in the United States. Food has long been acknowledged as a way people cope in a process called ‘emotional eating.’ People sometimes turn to food as a way to block out negative feelings and emotions. The Mayo Clinic states food provides immediate satisfaction and distraction, and for most people unhealthy, tasty food is readily accessible.
The problem is not just the occasional food binge. The issue occurs when people who are dealing with chronic negative emotions realize that food only temporarily relieves their feelings. As soon as they start feeling down again, they turn to food. One cookie might not kill your diet, but 20 will.
In this study, we looked at the slippery slope from Fan to Fat. And we found that after a defeat of their favorite football team, people eat more, and [what they choose to eat are] more fatty foods. But after a victory of their favorite football team, people eat less, and healthier foods, Chandon told INSEAD Knowledge in an interview. “Very interestingly, we found the effects were the same for men and women.”
SEE ALSO: How to combat winter weight gain
To combat this weight gain associated with losing sports teams, the Mayo Clinic indicates the first step is to eliminate temptation. It may seem standard to have pizza, chips and wings during a game, but healthier snacks will keep your waist trim if you do overeat after a game. Keeping a food diary can also help, making you aware of just how poorly your food choices are following game day.
Other sports fans aren’t in the clear, either. Just because football was the sport indicated in the research doesn’t mean other team events don’t have the same issue. Wherever dedicated fans are, unhealthy food choices are sure to follow.
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The post Is your favorite football team making you gain weight? appeared first on Voxxi.
