Alimento de conforto em resposta a situações de estresse: uma revisão

Abstract

Comfort food is a concept that deals with the affective side that food can convey when consumed. In many people, stress is associated with changes in eating behavior. Foods consumed during stress (comfort foods) are generally unhealthy. The main objective of this work is to evaluate the influence of comfort food on stress, through a narrative review of the literature, using the scientific platforms SciELO, Lilacs and Google Scholar, including texts in Portuguese and English, complete and free and with topics compatible with what was researched. No evidence was found that comfort food provides improvements in recovery from psychological or physiological stress. Studies have shown changes in eating behavior in response to stress, which may lead to an unhealthy diet, such as refined foods, rich in calories, sugars and fat and not influencing the consumption of fruits and vegetables. It was concluded that there is not enough evidence to justify the consumption of comfort foods in stressful situations due to their emotional benefits.