Author(s): Neslihan ÅÄ°MÅEK, Serpil YALIM KAYA
Comfort food can be defined as foods that people consume to relieve themselves in the event of negative feelings such as stress, sadness, and depression or to reward themselves in the case of positive feelings such as happiness and success. When consumed, these foods and drinks are also described as causing goodness in the mood of the person with nostalgic references, and they are sometimes referred to as “mother’s food”. According to the studies in the literature, it is known that consumption of comfort food differs across gender, age, and culture. It was suggested that while comfort foods for women are generally sweet foods such as sugar, chocolate and ice cream, comfort foods for men are protein-based foods such as meat and meat products and carbohydrate foods such as pasta and pizza. It was also found out that while the younger individuals preferred snacks such as chips, hamburgers, and chocolates as comfort foods, the elderly group preferred more pot dishes, soups, and fruits and vegetables as comfort foods. Additionally, it was reported that individuals sometimes consumed local food as comfort foods. Although there are many studies about comfort food concept in the world, not many studies were accessed in Turkey. Therefore, studies on comfort food were examined and this topic was discussed from a conceptual point of view. Knowledge of how negative and positive psychological states affect eating behavior and food selection is expected to help specialists in food processing and nutrition who are interested in developing healthy new products demanded by the consumers. It can be argued that this research is to prepare a common ground for the studies to be conducted about comfort foods.
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