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Men Want Steak; Women, Cake

By Karen Barrow

What's your ultimate comfort food? A huge ice cream sundae dripping with hot fudge or a juicy, tender T-bone steak?

A new study, published in Physiology and Behavior, confirms the old stereotype: women tend to comfort themselves with sweet-tasting foods when they are feeling down. But it also reveals that men prefer meat as their comfort food. And unlike women, they eat mostly when they are feeling at their best.

"In the past, comfort food was considered primarily as a strategy to alleviate stress, sadness and other negative emotions," said Dr. Jordan LeBel, associate professor at Cornell University's School of Hotel Administration. "Ensuring emotional well-being is still the goal, but pleasure and positive emotions can also determine food choice, especially in men."

This new understanding of how men and women view food differently may help researchers better understand how our emotions may impact food choices.
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