By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom
With Halloween on the horizon, I thought it would be fun to provide a little “candy trivia.” If you choose to indulge, stick with the “fun size” servings at around 100 calories, and you get to eat the whole thing! Here are some of my favorite candy facts.
1. Nearly half of the 200 million pounds of candy sold in America is at Halloween. Most of the other half is sold at Easter and Valentine’s Day.
2. The top selling candy in America is candy corn. But we don’t know how much we eat, and how much we use for crafts and decorations.
3. Candy does not cause weight gain and often supports weight loss. The Swiss are among the biggest consumers of chocolate (about 2 pounds per month per person) in the world, yet they have an overweight/obesity rate of around 7%! In the United States, about 35% of the population is overweight or obese. Allowing yourself a small amount of chocolate or candy can be an indication of good control over food, not the opposite!
4. The mood elevating effects of candy occur within minutes. The mood changes reported after candy consumption include happiness, a sense of well-being, and feeling great or less depressed. But the immediate benefits of candy consumption are connected to the pleasantness of the taste (sensory stimulation from your taste buds) and your own anticipated views of how the candy makes you feel – not a change in brain chemistry. Many foods, including candy, can be a source of pleasure because we’ve received a lot of positive reinforcement for eating them.
Do you have any candy facts you’d like to share?
Happy Halloween!!
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