NEW YORK -- Just over half (53%) of Americans indicate they eat more when they are stressed and two-thirds (67%) agree they use their favorite comfort food as a pick me up.
Two thirds (66%) indicate they don’t feel guilty after indulging in their favorite comfort food.
So which food seems to do the trick?
For Americans, pizza lands in the No. 1 spot as the ultimate comfort food.
These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,252 U.S. adults surveyed online between Dec. 9 and 14, 2015.
With a 15% slice of Americans hailing it as their No. 1, pizza gets more than twice as many votes as any other food choice. Chocolate and ice cream tie for second, at 7% each, while macaroni and cheese and chips round out the top five (5% and 4%, respectively).
Looking at favorites by various demographics--gender, generation, and geographic region--it seems as though pizza is No. 1 for just about everyone, with the exception of matures (those 70 and above), who turn instead to ice cream.
Some clear differences do arise, however, for second and third choices:
- Women turn to chocolate and ice cream as their second and third choices, respectively. Men, on the other hand, opt for ice cream and then chips.
- Ice cream is the second choice for Easterners and Southerners alike, while Midwesterners turn to chocolate and Westerners prefer to dig into some mac & cheese. In third place, those in the South and West opt for chocolate, while those in the Midwest want a bowl of ice cream and the East is hankering for mac & cheese.
- While chocolate is No. 2 for gen Xers, this treat is reserved for third place by all other generations. Millennials’ second choice is mac & cheese, while baby boomers opt for ice cream and matures reach for steak. Gen Xers name chips as their third place pick.
When they’re sick, however, Americans would much rather turn to soup, by a wide margin. About six in 10 Americans name soup as their go-to when they’re sick, with nearly four in 10 (39%) mentioning it more broadly and an additional 22% specifically mentioning chicken soup. Soups reign supreme as the top two under-the-weather foods across all key demographics.
The top five foods eaten while sick are rounded out by ice cream (3%), toast (2%) and, yes, pizza (2%).
When it comes to celebrating a special occasion, Americans continue to have differing top choices as well.
Steak has a strong hold on the No. 1 spot, with over two in 10 (22%) adults choosing it as their favorite special occasion meal, while 12% turn to cake. Americans across all key demographics cite these two as their favorite celebratory foods. Rounding out the top five celebratory dishes are pizza (7%), lobster (4%) and other types of seafood (3%).
When do Americans turn to their favorite comfort food? Over four in 10 say they need an edible pick me up when they’re stressed (45%) or after a really bad day (43%). One third (33%) indicate they turn to a comfort food when they’re depressed.
Nearly four in 10 indicate they’ll turn to their tried and true dish after a really good day (38%) or on their birthday (37%).
More distantly, 13% indicate they eat it after a breakup and, among those 21 or older, 9% each say they need that special dish either the day after or during a night of heavy drinking.
Demographically speaking, there are clear differences in the top reasons for needing some comfort food.
- Women are most likely to reach for their favorite comfort food when they’re stressed (54%), while men are most likely to turn to comfort food after a really good day (43%).
- Looking to the generations, millennials and gen Xers are most likely to need comfort food when they’re stressed (58% and 50%, respectively). Baby boomers, on the other hand, need it after a really bad day (38%), while Matures look to it after a really good day (39%).
While most will agree there’s no place like home, most Americans (90%) are going one step further to say there’s nothing like a home-cooked meal. With that sentiment in mind, it likely comes as little surprise that more than six in 10 (62%) adults say their favorite comfort food reminds them of their childhood.
Though Americans may not feel guilty after indulging, more than four in 10 (41%) do indicate they’ll sometimes work out longer or more intensely to justify eating a favorite comfort food. This is particularly true of millennials, compared to their older counterparts (57% vs. 42% gen xers, 29% baby boomers and 22% matures).
Click here to view the detailed charts.
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