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CANADIAN CRAVINGS: DATA SUGGESTS LIMITED CONTROL

Offers tips for those Canadians who threw their Healthy Eating Resolutions aside just months into the new year

Another resolution story?! What you might not know is that while one in four Canadians resolve to eat healthier each January 1st, one quarter fail by February and even more may fall prey to the mid-March blahs¹.  According to The Skinny Cow 2006 Canadian Cravings Survey*, our cravings may hold the key. While more than half of us feel we have “a lot” to “complete” control of our lives, both at work and home, 70 per cent of us lose control when it comes to food cravings.

THE SKINNY COW 2006 CANADIAN CRAVINGS SURVEY: GET THE SKINNY

• Do we have a control issue? Ninety per cent of us feel we have some (31%), a lot (39%) or complete (20%) control of our lives at work and/or at home.
• Cravings control: Seventy per cent of Canadians give into their food cravings sometimes (56%), almost always (9%) or always (5%), while eight per cent claim they never lose control!
• He says, she says: Women are almost three times as likely as men to give into cravings due to stress/anxiety or feelings of sadness/loneliness and two times as likely due to boredom. And compared to married couples, single Canadians are twice as likely to give into their cravings “almost always” or “always.”
• You’re so controlling: Among Canadians, while Quebecers feel they have the least amount of control in their lives, both at home and at work (55% believe they have some, minimal or no control compared to an average of 31% in the rest of Canada), they DO have the highest control over their food cravings – 42 per cent “almost never” or “never” give into their cravings compared to the national average (26%).
• Triggers: Canadians claim their food cravings are due to stress and anxiety (14%), boredom (12%), seeing advertisements for specific foods (9%), food smells (7%), loneliness and/or sadness (4%) and happiness (4%). Only two per cent stated pregnancy was the culprit.
• Ice cream, chocolate, chips….oh my! While Canadians share a small preference for sweet over salty (48% vs 40%), women are one and a half times more likely than men to choose sweet over salty. Interestingly, one in 100 women crave salad while three per cent of Canadians crave vegetables!

WHY DO WE CRAVE?

“Cravings are a natural part of our relationship to food"
Harvey Weingarten, President and Vice-Chancellor, U of Calgary, who has conducted extensive research on food cravings. His research found that 97% of women have experienced cravings vs. 68% of men, and we give into our urges at least half the time.

According to The Skinny Cow 2006 Canadian Cravings Survey, 98% of us experience food cravings. And with so many of us falling prey to our cravings, it’s no surprise that numerous theories exist to explain why we crave (or have uncontrollable gastronomic desires):

• The Wisdom of the Body Theory: Our body craves what it needs (but this doesn’t account for nutritionally bankrupt foods).
• The Dieting Theory: Our bodies crave what we deny it.
• Memory Theory: We recall and crave those foods that remind us of our childhood.
• The Blood Sugar Theory: According to the Philadelphia-based Monell Chemical Senses Center, the greatest number of cravings occur late in the day when our blood glucose drops, making us sluggish and in need of a lift.
• The Stress/Anger/Boredom/Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)/Premenstrual Theory: When we experience these emotions or situations, decreases in the brain chemical serotonin occurs (serotonin creates a sense of well being). Carbohydrates and sweet or starchy foods increase the secretion of this chemical, which in turn may improve our mood.
• Chronic Stress: UofC researchers discovered that 24 hours after activation of the chronic stress system, rats engaged in pleasure-seeking behaviours, including eating high-energy foods (sucrose and lard).

The Future: A lot of work is being done in the area of cravings control. Researchers found those with the most vivid mental images of a food experience the most intense cravings; therefore, if we can tone down the mental image of a food in our mind (essentially prompt ourselves to think of something else), cravings can be reduced. Others found that random flickering images on a TV decreased the mental imagery enough to rid the craving (Tiggeman. Chocolate cravings are susceptible to visuo-spatial interference. Eat Behav 2005 Feb;6(2):101-7).

The Cultural Connection: Cross-cultural research demolishes the dictum that women universally crave chocolate. While women in Egypt, Spain and the U.S. tend to crave sweeter foods than men, the hankering for chocolate varied, and men and women in Spain were equally likely to crave it. Egyptian women, by contrast, couldn't care less about cocoa (only 6% named chocolate as their most favoured food) (Appetite. 2003 Apr; 40(2):193-5).

GIVE IN…PRACTICE SAFE INDULGENCE!

According to Webster’s Dictionary, cravings are “an intense, urgent, or abnormal desire or longing.”
Anecdotal evidence showcases that when people crave a food, they may visualize, smell and almost taste it.

“We should indulge our cravings,” says Naomi Orzech, Registered Dietitian and Cravings Counsellor. “When we deny ourselves an entire food category, whether it’s starch or sweets, we deny our bodies and our minds valuable enjoyment and possibly nutrients. You can beat the mid-March blahs while still following your New Year’s resolution… the key is to indulge responsibly.” Naomi states that portion control and exercise within a well balanced diet is key.  Click here for some simple tips from The Skinny Cow and Toronto-based Registered Dietitian Naomi Orzech to help you win the battle against your cravings.




*ABOUT THE SURVEY: The Skinny Cow 2006 Canadian Cravings Survey was conducted by Decima Research from December 15 to 18, 2005 among 1,000 nationally representative adults 18 years of age or older. The results are accurate within +/- 3.1%.

¹. Léger Marketing, February 2004, Poll of 1,500 Canadians

References:
Nestlé Skinny Cow and Registered Dietitian Naomi Orzech

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