If you suffer with any kind of eating disorder, or find anything food-related triggering, please refrain from reading this article.
Christmas is a time in which many celebrate through eating and, it is for this reason, that some experience ‘mince pie regret’ following this period. As a result, losing weight is one of the most common New Year's resolutions and diet ads become more frequent. However, we must be reminded of how normal it is to put on weight during this time and not to blame ourselves for indulging every now and again. There is a reason why Father Christmas is depicted with a jiggly belly! This article will hopefully remind you that a few extra pounds on the scale does not define you and is completely normal at a time in which we are surrounded by food. With that being said, let’s get started.
Availability
Many, if not all of us, will often eat foods which are classed as ‘bad for us’ over Christmas. But why is it that we will always choose the Christmas pud over the sprout? Researchers investigated this by giving rats a food deficient in a certain vitamin over a period of time. When the rats were presented with food high in this vitamin compared to marmite, they were more attracted towards the high vitamin food. In other words, the rats were able to correctly identify food which was more beneficial for their health. However, when they gave the rats multiple foods to choose from, learning didn’t occur. This suggests that the sheer availability of ‘bad foods’ during Christmas time causes us to crave them more and disregard the lonely sprout that no one really likes that much. So, the idea that struggling to resist unhealthy foods is due to a lack of self-control is a complete myth! Furthermore, researchers Carden and Wood found that those who were associated with having greater will power were just surrounding themselves with more positive choices and were therefore not having as many daily battles with themselves to resist. Therefore, you shouldn’t put yourself down for slipping a cheeky mince pie during the festive period (or any time for that matter), when the cupboards are overflowing with them.
Supermarket Advertising
Along with the fact that we tend to eat more during winter from an evolutionary perspective, as well as the power of that festive feeling, supermarket advertising can also cause us to eat more during Christmas time. Think about Aldi’s ‘Kevin the carrot’! As soon as December arrives, supermarkets will often increase the volume of adverts so you choose them to buy your Christmas dinner. However, it is factors like this which make it even more likely that we consume more over this period. For example, Jennifer Harris and colleagues conducted a study with children and adults who were shown different types of food adverts. They found that regardless of whether the adverts contained ‘healthy’ or ‘unhealthy’ foods, all participants would consume more food overall. This is otherwise known as an obesogenic environment (when environmental cues impact our food consumption or physical activity). So, it makes sense that we tend to eat more during this time, as we are constantly bombarded with messages about food.
Food and The Brain
I bet you never thought I’d say that we crave Christmas food more due to differences in our brain structure, well here I am saying it! As we found in my article: ‘Why You Can’t Put That Chocolate Bar Down’, there are areas of the brain which have been associated with our ability to perceive reward. Some of these areas include: the orbitofrontal cortex, the ventral striatum and the pregenual cingulate cortex (try memorising those for an exam; take it from me, it’s difficult!). Using fMRI scanning, Edmund Rolls and Ciara McCabe found that these areas were more active in those who identified as ‘chocolate-cravers’ when shown a picture of some chocolate. So, the reason why we dip into the celebrations tub is because the indulgent food associated with Christmas are those which our brain has learnt to love! I’m always stuffing myself with chocolate over Christmas, now we know it’s because my brain likes it so much (plus it tastes really good!)
Social Pressures
Another reason why Christmas makes us eat more than we usually would is due to the social aspect. Christmas is a time which many of us associate with being with our family, and it is for this reason, why our consumption goes up. It is said that when we are with others, we tend to alter our food intake towards the ‘average’. Consequently, because everyone else is eating more over the holidays, we do the same; ‘trying to be good’ goes out the window! For example, in a study of pre-school children, researchers found that they would eat 30% more when in large groups. Therefore, being with other people influences us to eat that little bit extra too. Having said this, many of us didn’t get to meet with all our family this year, but even the change to routine will instil habits of eating greater amounts. For instance, a lot of us tend to have time off work over Christmas. This will also contribute to slipping that extra gingerbread man. Ever had the feeling of eating because you’re bored? That’s due to a lack of structure in your day. At work we have our lunch break and after that it’s more tricky to nab a cheeky digestive, but at home, the cupboards are calling!
The Scales
Now we’ve looked at all the reasons why Christmas leads us to eat more, it is important to discuss how this affects our perception of ourselves. Because we believe we have ate ‘poorly’ over Christmas, we often think we have put on masses of weight and go straight to gym once January hits. Companies take advantage of this and, as a result, many see an influx of diet ads on their Instagram feed. However, we don’t actually put on as much weight we think! Researchers have found that, despite common thought, we tend to only put on around a pound over the Christmas festivities (about as much as a shoe) so not that much at all really!
I hope you have found this article interesting and has given you an insight into the normality of weight gain at Christmas time and not to beat yourself up about it. Weight can be a very toxic topic and can take over people’s lives. Hopefully we can put some of that mince pie regret to bed this January. Whatever your experience this Christmas, remember that self-love is the most important love! Happy learning!