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The Super Bowl is not just one of the biggest sporting events of the year. It is also one of the biggest gastronomic events. And if your team wins or loses big game can affect how you enjoy your food – and how much food you consume – even the next day.
According to neuroscientist Rachel Herz, badistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown University and author of Why are you eating what you eat.
"Many, many chickens are dying for the Super Bowl, and it is estimated that people consume 2,400 calories in the space of only four to five hours," notes Herz, citing a popular estimate published by Calorie Control. Council.
Herz says that in theory, everyone eats a lot of chips, guacamole or whatever is on the game menu during the match, no matter what team they aspire to. But "what's more interesting is what's happening on Monday," she said – because research has revealed that one day later, fans who were shooting for the first time in the night, lost team may continue to make unhealthy food choices.
I spoke with Herz about the intersection of psychology, our senses and our relationship with food – especially at the Super Bowl. Excerpts from the conversation have been changed for reasons of length and clarity.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE INTERVIEW
On a study that followed the eating habits of more than 700 Americans living in major US cities during the 2004 and 2005 National Football League seasons. The study examined the results of more than 475 games and 30 teams. In cities where the local team lost a match against the NFL Sunday night, consumption of processed foods high in fat and calories, like pizza and pastries, rose 16% Monday, after the match, compared to a Monday.
This study focused specifically on NFL scores and degree of fandom. This is particularly the case for more committed fans, for larger games – and of course, the Super Bowl is one of them. And [the effect was most pronounced] when there is a tight gap and the two teams are well aligned in terms of rivalry. [ In those cases, consumption of comfort foods spiked by 28 percent.]
People feel such a pbadion and also identify with sports teams. In reality, these people are very affected by the loss and turn to comfort the next day. Supporters if engaged – on the Monday following an intense football match – who is on the losing side tend to eat a lot more comfort foods high in calories than they would on a normal Monday. And the next day, Tuesday, they do not compensate for their additional consumption.
It is interesting to note that the winners – although they ate tons of them during the match – because they feel so excited, actually consume fewer calories and calories-rich foods than every Monday.
It's like when you're really excited – like when you're in love, or you're so excited by what's going on that you kind of forget about eating. From a neurochemical point of view, your body really feels the same feeling of not needing food, which reduces its appetite.
On the neuroscience of comfort foods
If my team loses and Monday, I am completely shot, in the dumps, I need fun. And food is a great way to provide that in an immediate sense. Foods high in fats and carbohydrates give you dopamine, endorphins and serotonin. And it's dopamine, in particular, which is the neurotransmitter of reward and pleasure. And endorphins really soothe our pain, both physically and mentally. The fatter the food, the more you will experience it with endorphins.
On top of that, in addition to appealing to the will, we can do to minimize the risk of overeating at Super Bowl parties
If you are the host and want to help your guests not consume too much, other works show that if you use small round plates, you will eat much less than if you use square plates – just because of the way the food falls on the plate. If we have small plates, we can only put a lot of them. And if people have big plates, we will do the same to fill them. So small plates are useful.
Secondly, the red plates have the effect of making us pay attention to the fact that we eat – and also how much we eat. The red color attracts much more attention than other colors. And this is mainly due to the fact that in our natural and constructed experiences, the red color concerns attention, danger and vigilance. So you know, flashing red lights for sirens, stop lights. I think we should note the red because it's something that could mean we have to be careful.
One of the difficult things that happen in a lot of these parties – it does not have to be the Super Bowl – where you will serve out-of-doors, etc., is that we are very distracted by the conversation and by anything else. continues, and we do not pay attention to how much we eat. But if you can draw people's attention, even slightly, to the fact that they're eating, this will help reduce excessive over-consumption.
Why can chicken wings – especially spicy ones – be a great food for Super Bowl fans' emotions from the point of view of neuroscience (if not diet)?
The pain sensation of burning [from the capsaicin, the heat-inducing chemical in peppers] also releases endorphins. This is one of the reasons why so many people with muscle pain use capsaicin creams, which they apply on their skin. The creams cause a burning sensation, but also trigger a release of endorphins so that the pain disappears.
One of the things on chicken wings that helps them in this category – probably even beyond [being] spicy, but the two things are synergizing – is that fat helps to increase endorphin production. So, the chicken wings are beautiful and fat because they are fried. In addition, there is a lot of fat in it, and then they are spicy.
On how the perception of taste is affected by the fact that your team wins or loses
What's interesting to me is the degree to which we, human beings, adhere to and identify ourselves so much with a sports team that their defeats and victories become our own defeats and victories. So you can feel as bad or as good if you were personally in a sporting event as you do for this team with which you are super affiliated.
What has been observed is that when people are stressed and upset, there is an increase in the neurotransmitter norepinephrine. And this actually increases the sensitivity to the tangy taste and decreases the sensitivity to sweetness. So, if you were eating, for example, something with a sweet and sour profile, you would taste a lot more acid if you were upset.
So, the losing team – no matter what the time of the end of the match – if they were asked to eat a lemon or lime sorbet at that time, this sorbet would taste much more acidic and less sweet that if she was on the side of the winners eat this same sorbet. Because winning increases the neurotransmitters that amplify the perception of sweetness. So things have a better taste when you are happy. The softness will be softer when you are upset and you can eat more to enjoy.
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