Mindless eating Mini- Experiment Corri Calandra Dana Joss Haleigh Pannell Lexi Davis

Describe the topics and methods of the mini research study The topic being studied in this experiment is the effect of mood and attentiveness on the quantity of snacks being consumed. A survey of five questions was created and given to ten college students, five male and five female. The surveys were then collected and reviewed, using a numbers system, to see how each answer reflected the question above.

Why is researching this particular topic and research relevant to the general public? We believe that this topic is relevant to the general public because the availability and convenience of unhealthy snacks is much greater in today’s society than in the past. This coupled with the rising levels of stress and increasing pressures in society, could lead to mindless snacking. People often use food as a way to relieve stress or anxiety, and it is important for people to be aware of when they are eating, what they are eating, and how much they are eating to remain healthy.

Who was studied? Subject 1: Female college student Subject 2: Male college student Subject 3: Male college student Subject 4: Female college student Subject 5: Female college student Subject 6: Male college student Subject 7: Female college student Subject 8: Male college student Subject 9: Male college student Subject 10: Female college student

Hypothesis Our Hypothesis: The frequency of snacking increases with the experiencing of negative emotions such as stress, anxiety, or sadness, or when an individual is inattentive.

State the study’s methods We created a survey of five questions that addressed the mood of individuals as well as their attentiveness while snacking. For the purpose of this study, snacking is defined as eating anytime that is not a meal. Each question asked the students to rate their answer on a scale from 1-5. The significance of the numbers were as follows: 1: never 2: almost never 3: sometimes 4: almost always 5: always At the end, we collected the ten surveys and calculated the total for each question by adding up the numbers circled by each participant for each question.

State the study’s methods (cont.) The five questions asked were as follows: On a scale from 1-5: 1) How often do you snack when you’re stressed? 2) How often do you snack while doing homework? 3) How often do you snack while watching TV/ watching a movie/ playing video games? 4) How often do you snack when you’re sad? 5) When snacking, how often are the foods you choose healthy?

What were the findings of the research? Each question had the possibility of reaching 50 total points. After the scores of each participants survey were added together, the data was as follows: How often do you snack when you’re stressed?: 29 Points 29/50= 58% 2) How often do you snack while doing homework? : 28 Points 28/50= 56% 3) How often do you snack while watching TV/ watching a movie/ playing video games? : 23 points 23/50= 46% 4) How often do you snack when you’re sad? : 31 Points 31/50= 62% 5) When snacking, how often are the foods you choose healthy? : 25 Points 25/ 50= 50%

Breakdown by Gender: Questions: Males: Females: 1 13 points 16 points 2 15 points 3 10 points 4 18 points 5 11 points 14 points

Were the results similar throughout the subjects tested? Why or why not? The results were similar throughout the subjects tests, and were even similar when analyzed by gender. We believe that the results are similar for multiple reasons. The first reason being that college is generally more stressful for freshmen than high school was, leading to trying to find new ways to cope with this new stress and emotion. Additionally, college students tend to have more down time than they did in high school, leading to “bored” eating, as shown in the results. Finally, being in college means that no parents are present to restrict eating habits, or dictate what foods are present in the house/ room, which could lead to an unhealthier choice of snacks.

Did the findings match the hypothesis? Why or why not? The findings of this experiment matched the hypothesis. The high number of points for each question showed that many students agreed with the questions asked, meaning that many students find that being emotional or inattentive leads to more snacking. While looking at the results, it seems that emotion seemed to have a bigger effect on snacking, particularly in the girls that filled out the survey. Although emotions seemed to be the variable that effected snacking more, the results prove that both inattentiveness and emotions lead to more snacking.

What observations/ opinions can you make regarding the results about the Longwood University population? We have concluded that many Longwood students are not aware of how much they really eat in response to lack of attentiveness or their emotions. Many of the students were surprised when they began to think of their answers, and it seems that many students do not actually notice the cause of their eating. We also concluded that many students do not intend to snack this often, or unhealthily, but they just have never paid attention to their snacking until now.

How can these results help to change “Mindless Eating”? These results show that students should be more careful when they are doing any sort of activity while eating. Before beginning homework, or another type of activity such as a movie or a TV show, a proportional snack should be set aside to prevent overeating. These results also show that students should be careful when they become too emotional or stressed to not use food as a way to cope.