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Food

Pizza Is America’s Favorite Form of Stress Relief

Life can be rough, in ways both big and small. And sometimes, with the exception of a stiff cocktail, there’s nothing that takes the edge off more than a meal of cheese and grease.
Hilary Pollack
Los Angeles, US
Photo via Flickr user daremoshiranai

Tough day at work, huh? Or maybe's Mom yelling at you again about never getting your teeth cleaned? Ghosted for the fourth time this week by a Tinder date?

Life can be rough, in ways both big and small. And sometimes, with the exception of a stiff cocktail, there's nothing that takes the edge off more than a meal of cheese and grease.

At least, that's what one could glean from both widespread anecdotal experience (here's looking at you, crying people at the food court) and now, from a survey put out to Americans about what foods they truly reach for when in needed of edible comfort.

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And the winner is zero-percent surprising: good old pizza.

The results of a new Harris Poll released on January 25 indicate, first and foremost, that we're a nation of stress-eaters (which is probably why we're all so sickeningly fat, LOL!). More than half of Americans admit to eating more when they're stressed, and 67 percent said that they use their favorite foods as a source of emotional solace; a "pick-me-up" if you will.

Of the more than 2,250 respondents to the poll, almost everyone—men, women, and people from every region—named pizza as their main boo. The only exception was old people (participants over the age of 70), who inexplicably preferred ice cream to a slice of 'za when they want to carb-load their way into complacent, caloric bliss. Chocolate, steak, and mac 'n' cheese were the runners up. If you get dumped before Valentine's Day, be sure to make a solo trip to your town's crappy steakhouse for ribeye and a molten fudge cake.

READ: The Way You Eat Pizza Says a Lot About You, According to Body Language Experts

Behind pizza—uniter and fattener of all—women and men alike both turned to ice cream to drown their sorrows.

The top reasons for reaching for these foods included general stress, "having a bad day," or feeling "depressed." No surprises here, either. But interestingly, 38 percent of respondents also cited "a really good day" as an equally important reason for digging into a pepperoni slice or a tub of Phish Food. Or, perhaps, their birthdays, or a breakup, or a hangover.

Looks like we'll find any excuse to stuff our faces, when it really comes down to it.