People are not only strapped (a word the article uses to describe the financial problems people are having), they are also stressed. And there have been plenty of studies that show that when people are feeling very stressed out, they tend to turn to exactly those kind of 'comfort' foods that are unhealthy for them: chocolates, snacks, potato chips, and triple cheeseburgers with bacon.

I've been known to go on an occasional chocolate binge, myself. But then I'll go months without eating any chocolate. Perhaps my level of stress has something to do with it. I've never really stopped to think about it before. But, then, I am at most ten pounds overweight. If I lost fifteen pounds, I would be very slim.