A recent study found that people felt calmer listening to classical music than other genres. Their excitement increasing as they switched from jazz to hip-hop, then rock and heavy metal. No surprise there then.
However, the 800 participants were also asked to rate, on a scale (from ‘not at all’ to ‘very much’), their intention to eat a range of 16 food items. And the study, led by Miyagi University in Japan, found that people were more likely to eat sweet foods when listening to classical music. Bach and Elgar also turned people off eating savoury food like burgers and chips.
The study, which was published in the academic journal Food Quality and Preference, noted that this connection between eating types of foods with types of music could be explained by a phenomenon known as ‘emotional state congruence’. Other studies have found that people feel that eating sweet foods are more calming than indulgent savoury foods. Just make sure that ‘sweet’ doesn’t necessarily mean ‘unhealthy’!
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