Sugar fix

Why do many of us turn to sweet and fatty snacks in response to dealing with stress?

- Marc Wilson

At a health psychology conference on Waiheke Island a few years ago, I gave a talk about psychological factors associated with a certain dietary behaviour: why people either consume or abstain from meat and other animal products. I ended the talk with a series of photos of delegates dining during the conference, to invite reflection on their own reasons for eating what they did.

At a recent conference in the same field, hosted in the South Island, the tables were turned. I attended a fantastic food-related talk with a different focus that invited me to reflect on how and what I eat.

I've long been a fan of UK-based psychologist Daryl O'Connor's work, but wasn't familiar with this particular strand of his research, which focuses on the relationship between stress and "eating styles" in adults and young people.