Music can help cut down comfort eating

AFTER a stressful day, the temptation of the snack cupboard can prove overwhelming.

But listening to music could help people resist comfort eating, a study of 119 women found.

Researchers stressed volunteers out by giving them five minutes to solve 18 anagrams – six of which were impossible. Then they gave them snacks including sweets, cookies, crisps, popcorn and chocolate. People listening to a comforting song, such as Fix You by Coldplay, consumed 35 per cent less than those eating in silence.

Dr Helen Coulthard, a co-author of the research from De Montfort University, said: ‘We are replacing the comfort of food with the comfort of music.’ Experts believe music boosts levels of the rewarding brain chemicals serotonin and dopamine, which may explain why it provides enough of a boost to reduce comfort eating.