Comfort food: da integração das evidências científicas à proposição conceitual e à caracterização do repertório alimentar

Abstract

Human eating behaviour is a complex phenomenon shaped by an interplay of biopsychosocial factors. The consumption of comfort food is a prime example of this, as it is not eaten to satisfy hunger, but rather to evoke specific emotional and psychological sensations and foster social bonds. Despite its relevance, there is still no consensus on a definition of comfort food in the literature. The objective of this thesis is therefore to clarify and deepen our understanding of comfort food by analysing its concept, the contexts in which it is used and the foods that comprise this category, as well as the factors associated with its consumption. The results are presented in three articles. The first study is divided into two articles: a protocol and a scoping review. This study aims to clarify the scientific definition of comfort food by examining how the concept has been understood and in which contexts it is used, identifying the predominant methodological designs in research on the topic, and analysing the factors associated with the consumption of these foods, based on a systematic mapping of available scientific documents. Development of the protocol was guided by the PCC acronym (Population, Concept, Context) and was registered on the Open Science Framework (OSF). It was then developed and published in a specialised journal. Following the protocol phase, the scoping review was conducted. Analysing the elements that comprise the concept identified two macro-dimensions: Hedonic (immediate sensory pleasure and reward) and Eudaimonic (construction of meaning, identity and affective regulation), and an integrative concept was proposed for this food category: tasty food with cultural and identity-related significance that is associated with positive memories and is consumed to promote sensory pleasure, emotional connection, affective regulation and well-being. This emphasises the coexistence of these dimensions in the functions attributed to comfort food. The second study was a secondary investigation which used data extracted from the scoping review. The aim was to characterise the identified comfort foods according to their frequency in the literature, the concept dimensions adopted in the studies and the sources of information. The study also aimed to assess the similarities and differences between the repertoires of comfort foods based on the concept dimensions adopted in the studies and the sources of information. Finally, the study aimed to analyse whether the dimensions of comfort food comprising the study’s guiding concept differ according to the information source. The food repertoires of Researchers and the Hedonic dimension were found to be more restricted, while Participants, Reviews, and the Eudaimonic and Hybrid dimensions exhibited greater diversity. Regarding similarity, low overlap and high exclusivity were observed among the groups. Furthermore, significant variation in the dimensions was observed depending on the information source. This thesis establishes a framework for organising knowledge about this food category, filling conceptual gaps and providing a foundation for future research. Its main contributions include proposing a definition of comfort food and highlighting the need to reformulate research methodology in this field by explicitly incorporating its hedonic and eudaimonic dimensions.