The DOI matches its Crossref record; 52 of the 52 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Good mood food. Positive emotion as a neglected trigger for food intake
Abstract
Unlabelled Research on emotions as a trigger for food intake has mainly been focused on the role of negative emotions. In the present studies the role of positive emotions as a trigger for food intake is investigated in a sample of healthy participants with a normal weight. Two laboratory studies were conducted in which positive emotions or no emotions were induced (Study 1) or in addition negative emotions were induced (Study 2) after which unhealthy food intake was assessed by bogus taste tests. In Study 3, food intake was assessed by registering snack intake in a 7-day diary study together with the emotions accompanying each snacking episode to provide a more ecologically valid test of our hypothesis. Studies 1 and 2 showed that positive emotions, compared to the control conditions, evoked more caloric intake. Dietary restraint did not moderate this effect. Study 2 additionally showed that positive emotions evoked caloric intake to the same extent as negative emotions. Study 3 showed that snack intake in daily life was reported to result from positive emotions more frequently than from negative emotions.Conclusions Positive emotions serve as an important but under-investigated trigger for unhealthy food intake that deserves further scrutiny. Future research should further investigate whether food intake results from emotional arousal in general, or from emotional valence in particular.
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“positive emotional eating is a common trigger for eating [38]”
From Mindfulness facets differentially relate to self-reported negative and positive emotional eating types in treatment-seeking adults with overweight/obesity (2023) · cites this paper as [38]
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Arend, A.-K., Reichenberger, J., & Blechert, J. (2026) · Appetite · doi:10.1016/j.appet.2026.108536 · Cited by 1
Feeding the lonely soul: Seeking warmth in high-calorie foods
Xu, J., Li, Y., & Xu, Z. (2025) · JUSTC · doi:10.52396/justc-2024-0109
Pupil diameter during cognitive reappraisal predicts the desire to eat
Levy, S., Hochman, S., Cohen, N., & Weinbach, N. (2026) · Eating Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2026.102105
Ackermans, M. A., Heininga, V. E., de Jong, P. J., & Jonker, N. C. (2026) · Applied Psychology Health and Well-Being · doi:10.1111/aphw.70175
“Furthermore, the hedonic properties of food may be heightened when experiencing positive emotions, such that individuals derive more pleasure from eating when in a good mood (Evers et al., 2013).”
InfluentialSiangphloen, P., Shepherd, D., Kantono, K., & Hamid, N. (2026) · International Journal of Gastronomy and Food Science · doi:10.1016/j.ijgfs.2026.101608
Ackermans, M. A., Jonker, N. C., & de Jong, P. J. (2026) · Journal of Experimental Psychopathology · doi:10.1177/20438087261468836
Metadata
- Authors
- Evers, C., Adriaanse, M., de Ridder, D. T. D., & de Witt Huberts, J. C.
- Affiliations
- Utrecht University (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Evers, Catharine
- Venue
- Appetite
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2013-09
- Volume
- 68
- Pages
- 1-7
- ISSN
- 0195-6663 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2056724053
- Cited by
- 210
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 13 · 2024: 23 · 2023: 25 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 25 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 15 · 2018: 15 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 13 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 13.71
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Appetite (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- LSHTM Research Online (London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Eating Disorders and Behaviors
- Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Endocrine and Autonomic Systems › Regulation of Appetite and Obesity
- Keywords
- positive emotions, dietary intake, emotional eating, unhealthy food consumption, energy intake, negative emotions, dietary restraint, snacking, emotional arousal, emotional valence, mood
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Analysis of Variance, Energy Intake, Eating, Emotions, Feeding Behavior, Female, Happiness, Humans, Male, Reference Values, Students, Young Adult
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