Study into the Psychological Effects of Sweet Food: Collection of Basic Data

Abstract

A survey of 127 male and female university and junior college students was conducted regarding their likes and dislikes of sweet food and nutritional awareness to collect basic data aimed at clarifying the psychological effects of sweets on people. As a result, 84.8% of the participants answered that they liked sweet food, and it became clear that they ate sweet food frequently. The most common reason for liking sweet food was that“they taste nice.”Many of the female participants mentioned the psychological effects of sweet food as the reason for liking them, such as“they make me happy”or“they soothe me.”When the participants were asked when they crave sweet food, many of both the male and female participants answered,“when tired.”Regarding the feeling of happiness when eating sweet food, more than 96% of both the males and females who liked sweet food answered that they“feel happy.”Even some of those who did not like sweet food and those who neither liked nor disliked them answered that they feel happy. These results suggest that a moderate intake of sweet food may have a positive effect on people’s minds. Therefore, it is important to conduct a further survey with more participants in the future.