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According to a new study, people who are under too much of stress and constant change are generally prone to choose foods which are not very familiar to them.
The study has been published in the Journal of Consumer Research.
"Most of us can name our favourite 'comfort foods' and believe that we are most prone to seek them out during times of stress and upheaval," writes author Stacy Wood (University of South Carolina).
"Contrary to this well-engrained belief, this research shows the surprising result that our choices of old favorites happen at the opposite times that we predict," the expert added.
In the initial study, the people were told about a person whose life is completely stable or is constantly under change.
Researchers asked them to predict whether these people would choose a popular American potato chip or an unknown British potato "crisp" in exotic flavours like Camembert and Plum. The participants thought that the former one picked up the new food.
Then a separate study was conducted where the participants were asked to describe their lifestyles and choose the snacks. The results were really shocking. People who were more prone to changes picked up newer snacks.
"This result is called the ''comfort food fallacy'' effect. It does not say that comfort foods are not enjoyable, but rather that we don't seem to seek them out when we think we do. Contrary to our expectations, comfort foods appear to be chosen more often in comfortable times," the expert said.
The study was conducted over to non-food options, such as song downloads and movies.
According to the conclusions of the study, the choices of people depend on the level of change they experience in their lives.
