Abstract / Summary
Background/Objectives: Comfort foods are perceived as energy dense and highly palatable, yet little empirical research documenting the veracity of such perceptions exists. Methods: We analyzed comfort foods for nutrient content, hyperpalatability, ultra-processing, and by demographic factors, hypothesizing poor nutritional profiles (higher fat, sugar, sodium, ultra-processing) and demographic differences in preferences. US census-matched respondents (N = 1760) self-identifying as comfort eaters listed their top three “comfort foods” through an online survey assessing comfort eating behavior and demographics (age, gender, US residence region). Trained raters abstracted nutrient contents for nominated foods using public reference databases and compared them against established nutritional recommendations (percent daily values [%DV]). We categorized foods by hyperpalatability and Nova classifications. Summary statistics were calculated overall and by demographic group. Two-sample t- and one-way ANOVA tests evaluated nutritional and demographic group differences. Results: N = 300 unique foods/beverages were nominated as top comfort foods, collapsible into n = 132 groupings by similarity (e.g., in ingredients, preparation). The top five groupings were chips, ice cream, pizza, chocolate, and cookies. Notable proportions of comfort foods were low (<5%DV) sources of fiber (60.7%), high (>20% DV) sources of saturated fat (29.7%) and sodium (31.7%), hyperpalatable (72.7%) (especially of the “meats/meal” variety (54.3%)), and 100% ultra-processed (42.7%). Slight differences (p < 0.05) in preferred foods’ nutrient content, hyperpalatability, and ultra-processing by age, gender, and region emerged. Conclusions: US comfort foods range widely but converge on certain foods. Nutritional quality could broadly improve; demographic differences are minor. These findings enhance the practical understanding of comfort food nutrition and inform efforts towards healthier comfort food selection.