Appetite Increased By Morbid Thoughts

Another excuse for the overfat.

"Can watching TV news or crime shows trigger overeating? According to new research in the Journal of Consumer Research, people who are thinking about their own deaths want to consume more...

The researchers found people with low self-esteem, in particular, tend to over-consume after death-related thoughts. Mandel and Smeesters explain the effect using a theory called 'escape from self-awareness.' 'When people are reminded of their inevitable mortality, they may start to feel uncomfortable about what they have done with their lives and whether they have made a significant mark on the universe. This is a state called 'heightened self-awareness.' One way to deal with such an uncomfortable state is to escape from it, by either overeating or overspending,' they write. "

Now here is a self-fulfilling prophecy if ever there was one.

Unfortunately, in the process, they cost the rest of us money and other resources.

Don't make the rest of us suffer from their lack of self-control.