Sweets, Chocolate, and Atypical Depressive Traits

An original questionnaire, the Foods and Moods Inventory (FMI) was used to investigate appetite for sweets and chocolate and its relationship to dysphoric mood. The FMI was administered to a group of subjects with an identified interest in chocolate (chocolate group, N = 73), a comparison sample (comparison group, N = 172), and a sample of former alcoholics (N = 22). Those who reported “self-medicating” with sweets or chocolate were more likely to have personality traits associated with hysteroid dysphoria, an atypical depressive syndrome. In addition, the tendency to eat compulsively, in general, and appetite for sweets and chocolate, in particular, were significantly greater among women.