The OECD has recognized that GDP is not a unique indicator of the well-being and progress of a country's inhabitants, and for several years has promoted research to build measurements with objective and subjective indicators of well-being. In this sense, it has been demonstrated that food plays a prominent role in this assessment.
Basically, associating not only what we eat, but how and with whom we eat, with pleasure is a notion as old as the great ancient civilizations. For the ancient Greeks, the pleasure derived from eating was comparable to the pleasure obtained from sexual activity. Both pleasures were attributed to a natural appetite of the person, which had to be self-regulated to demonstrate their degree of civilization.
There are foods that have been associated with the production of endorphins, which are essentially the brain chemicals that make us happy, such as chocolate. The power of a food to determine mood can also be associated not only with the substances it contains per se, but with the effects derived from the context in which it is consumed; for example, a good pozole for a family celebration, a glass of red wine for romance, or a snack to watch a soccer match. These situations are subjectively cataloged as instigators of happiness and pleasure.
In a study on women regarding the main reasons for their food choices, in which they were classified into groups such as health promoters, gourmets, ideological consumers, and those following a more or less strict diet, it was observed that, based on their psychological characteristics, those who scored lowest on general well-being indicators were those following a more or less strict diet.
Furthermore, it has been shown that the effects of the company with whom we eat can reflect positive or negative attitudes toward different aspects of life. In a study published this year conducted at Cornell University, in different groups of firefighters, it was established that those who ate together had greater commitment to team activities, simply by performing such a banal and mundane activity as eating together.
Various studies on the beneficial effects of food pleasure on people's health and well-being have led, for example, to some public food policies considering factors beyond the typical counting of portions and food groups.
Thus, for example, while in the United States the policy promoted by the First Lady called My Plate focuses mainly on the distribution of food groups per meal plate, in the French counterpart, the PNNS (National Nutrition and Health Program), importance is given to having meals in pleasant company, taking the time to consume them, and spending time together around the table, to promote health.
For our part, we have our own Plate of Good Eating, a version more similar to that of our northern neighbors, in which the dimensions of pleasure are clearly omitted. We should ask ourselves whether the design of our own nutritional education instruments is based on scientific evidence, not only regarding the mere effects of foods, but also on research trends and the evidence that is produced day by day, which clearly attribute the importance of social context and pleasure for the preservation of well-being.
— This article was originally published in Spanish by Liliana Martínez Lomelí. Translation generated with AI from the original text.