Have you ever felt the overwhelming need while sitting in front of the television screen in your favorite comfy clothes watching one more sitcom to get up and go to the kitchen in order to eat something more, although you have finished your dinner less than an hour ago? While many agree that the fridge hides a lot of delights that can ruin your appetite, today's consumers do not believe that chewing something before or after a well-served meal is a totally weird practice. Maybe the food quantity someone consumed was not enough to make him or her feel satisfied and full, even when no weight loss program is followed. Or maybe, one hates to throw away food and in an effort to find a good place to put that last piece of apple pie that was left untouched and should not be thrown out, he consumes it. But, why you select to eat the specific types of food that you do? For dieticians and social researchers the true cause of compulsive eating is your psychological state. People tend to eat what they feel.

According to a research that was completed by a team headed by an American psychotherapist, Mrs. Synthia Power, who specializes in the area of "food and addiction," there is a very close relationship between our mood and the food we select to eat. Those extra quantities of chips and ice-cream you put on your lap while watching a film, show something about the way you feel at the moment. If you have never tried to understand why was it that you selected to consume those extra calories since you were not really hungry, researchers have tried to examine our eating habits in relation to our emotional state.

The results of the study showed that the largest percentage of people feeling angry will select to eat a steak, while someone suffering from depression will look for food that includes in its substances sugar and caffeine. A jealous character will eat whatever is offered by the host, or whatever they have stacked inside the fridge, even if they are not particularly fond of the taste palette they are going to try, which explains a lot of the rivalries and food fights that are observed between siblings when they are still kids.

Mrs. Power's research tested more than 500 people and this is considered to be the first serious attempt to examine the relationship between our dietary choices and the way we eat. As the British "Sunday Times" report, "People that have to express their anger often select food that is not easily decomposed like a beef steak. On the other hand, people that feel lonely and depressed select to consume carbohydrates." According to the sample examined, those dealing with a stressful and difficult period in their lives, like for example a divorce, are prone to eat soft types of sweets, like ice-creams, honey or marmalade, while those experiencing sexual frustration tend to select starchy food, like pasta, cake or biscuits. Moreover, if you want to see who is really suffering from stress, try to observe your friends next time you invite them over for dinner. You will be able to pinpoint the stressed one by watching who will grab the salt first at your dinner party.