Scientists unwrap the secret of chips’ appeal

Monday 15 February 2010

As a nation we've been enjoying chips for more than 150 years.  To celebrate National Chip Week, Potato Council set out to discover what it is that keeps the British love affair with chips alive.   According to chip fans across the country it's down to their taste, tempting aroma and even their texture, but scientists believe there's more to the popularity of chips than that.

Experts at Aston University's School of Life and Health Sciences have delved deeper to uncover the science behind just why we all love chips so much. The study revealed that after eating chips people experienced a 10 and 13 per cent increase in calmness and cheerfulness respectively.

Dr Mike Green who led the research explained: "The consumption of chips clearly improved respondents' mood. The psychological data showed that participants who were feeling down felt better after eating chips. In fact, calmness was restored within twenty minutes."

Participants in the study ate chips after being shown a video clip designed to induce a negative mood state**. Changes in mood were measured before and after viewing the clip, and again after eating chips.  As well as increases in calmness and cheerfulness, respondents also showed an eight per cent decrease in anxiety after eating chips.

Dr Green added: "There are a number of possible nutritional and psychological mechanisms which could explain the mood changes after eating chips.  It may be down to the biological effects of nutritional components on brain chemistry or simply a pleasurable oro-stimulatory sensation, triggered by the way chips taste."

Ellie King, Potato Council said: "Homemade or from the chippy, we all have our favourite way of eating chips. We know that as a nation we all love chips, but now we can begin to further understand the reasons why."

An online survey commissioned for National Chip Week revealed that it is the taste of chips that we love the most according to 73 per cent, followed by their smell (20 per cent), and their texture (six percent). 

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For further information, or to arrange an interview, please contact:
David Gough or Cat Cambridge
Ceres  
T: 01189 475956
M: 07884 353474
E: david.gough@ceres-pr.co.uk / cat.cambridge@ceres-pr.co.uk

 Editor's Notes

• Chip Shops all over the country will be taking part in National Chip Week 15-21 February 2010. National Chip Week celebrates chips in all forms -homemade, oven or chip shop chips
• Britain's top chip places will be named during National Chip Week when the winners of the Perfect Portion Awards will be announced
• Visit www.lovechips.co.uk for a list of participating fish and chip shops, more information about what's going on during the week itself, perfect chip recipes and fun chip facts and figures
• National Chip Week is run by Potato Council.  Potato Council supports the British potato industry, and is funded by potato growers and potato trade purchasers and is a division of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (www.ahdb.org.uk)
• Chips can be eaten as part of a healthy balanced diet. In fact a portion of chip shop chips contains less fat than a prawn mayonnaise sandwich and a portion of oven chips will provide a third of your Recommend Daily Amount of vitamin C

*One Poll survey of 2,000 UK adults, February 2010

 Research Methodology Summary

**The study examined the potential mood enhancing effects of traditional chips vs a no food control condition. Mild disphoria was induced via a video clip and then participants either ate chips or ate nothing. Mood was assessed at several time points. It was found that the video clip generally depressed mood but that eating the chips alone led participants to feel more calm, cheerful and less anxious than when they ate nothing.