Did you ever go to a soda fountain for a fancy sundae after taking an examination? Or have you sometimes rewarded yourself for finishing a difficult job with an especially good meal in a restaurant? Do you recall with pleasure certain meals at birthday parties or holidays? Food is often used in one way or another to express or to cover up our feelings of happiness, love, security, worry, grief, loneliness, and so on.

The baby who is held when he is fed associates his food with warmth and security. But a child who is scolded for being messy may associate certain foods with unhappiness. Some teenagers overeat to compensate for a poor record in school or unpopularity with their classmates. Elderly persons living alone often eat far too little, because they are lonely and unhappy. People who are grieving or who can’t face the problems that beset them are known to gain excessive weight in some instances, because they find relief in eating excessive quantities of food.

*96/234/5*

GENERAL HEALTH