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Kiwis are gobbling more fast food than ever, while Cantabrians are turning to junk food to ease stress.
Statistics NZ figures showed fast-food consumers spent $1.56 billion on takeaway food services last year - a figure that has nearly doubled since 2004.
Cantabrians spent $170 million on takeaways last year, with $44.5m in the last quarter of 2012 - on par with the $44.3m in the last quarter of 2011.
A Statistics NZ spokesman said the figures did not show the full picture, as supermarkets and service stations sold fast food also.
Meanwhile, Restaurant Brands New Zealand chief financial officer Grant Ellis said there had been growth across the country but Canterbury figures were a little bit skewed because stores were lost in the earthquake. Sales for the year ending February 25 were $311.9m, an increase of 1.2% on the previous year.
University of Canterbury psychology lecturer Roeline Kuijer said Christchurch women's eating habits became unhealthier after the earthquakes in order to cope with stress.
Her study was a New Zealand, and possibly international, first because it examined eating habits and food choices before and after a natural disaster, she said.
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The health and well-being study started in 2007 but the focus changed after the February 22, 2011, earthquake to post-quake eating habits. The study canvassed 119 women, ranging in age from 21 to 86 years old. Kuijer said there was no change in eating habits after the September 2010 earthquake but three months after the February 2011 earthquake there was a marked change.
Women who suffered post-traumatic stress after the earthquakes reported unhealthier eating habits, and were more likely to choose food for mood and familiarity reasons. Respondents mostly preferred food that made them happy and natural content became less important.
"Women with higher levels of self-control were more likely to maintain choosing food for health reasons and natural content.
"Scores on an earthquake impact index - looking at issues like damage, financial strain, whether or not people had power or water - was unrelated to changes in eating habits or motives for food choice."
Kristy Lord said that since the quakes she had eaten more takeaways for convenience reasons, mainly as she worked at night, and ate fewer servings of fresh fruit and vegetables.
She said for a quick sugar hit she reached for fizzy drinks rather than lollies or high-fat food.
Kuijer said the negative effects of an unhealthy diet might make coping with a disaster even more difficult.
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