'Sandy Five' Hits New York, New Jersey Residents Who Took To Comfort Eating During The Hurricane

By Jeff Stone | November 09 2012 11:00 AM

When Hurricane Sandy forced some New York and New Jersey residents to fight flooded streets and go without power, many of them have taken some solace by opening the snack cabinets. Now, as those affected by the storm return to work and school, all that junk food is making their pants a little bit tighter. The New York Times has termed the condition the "Sandy Five."

Flickr via Creative Commons

Despite the increasing power of huge food and beverage companies, less than a dozen articles examining the industry's tactics have appeared in major medical journals over the past decade, PLoS Medicine editors said.

Sponsorship Link

The New York Times reported that a few extra pounds is nothing compared to a lost home on the Jersey Shore or powerless apartment in Lower Manhattan but it is evidence of a mentality that tends to surface in humans when we’re stressed.

“I can’t even talk about it,” Emily Marnell told the Times of her anxiety-induced eating after her Brooklyn apartment lost electricity. “I went through Duane Reade and was grabbing Double Stuf Oreos, whole milk, Twix, Twizzlers, Sour Patch Kids.”

It’s obviously not something a doctor would recommended but Marnell was far from alone in putting on the Sandy Five.

“I have never eaten more fries in my life than I have during this week. It was every day,” said beauty writer Amber Katz, who lives below the power line in Manhattan.

“I was totally stress-eating,” she added. “I had places to go during the day, but my friends uptown weren’t forthcoming with invites to stay overnight, even for one night. I was looking for comfort.”

Others joked that eating junk doesn’t count if it happens in the dark and some social network users insisted the Sandy Five had quickly turned into the “Sandy Fifteen.” Part of the reason for the weight gain was the common excuse that the best way to kill time was to bake goodies.

The phenomenon has been compared to the “Freshman Fifteen” college students tend to add when they first go away to school and have an almost unlimited access to alcohol and greasy food.

Dietitians told Fox News that despite the temptation, it’s never too late to slow down on the snacking.

“If you have candy in the house, make it one treat a day for the next few days,” said Keri Glassman, author of the book “The New and Improved Diet.”

Glassman also said now that people in New York and New Jersey are getting back to work it will be easy to shed the pounds they put on. One of the main causes for weight gain is boredom.