The consumption cycle

There is no doubt that a woman’s menstrual cycle effects her life in a myriad of ways. The mere fact that the mood swings, cramps, and food cravings have been collectively dubbed as a “syndrome” is testimony to widespread and relatively uniform impact of the changes in hormones that accompany and precede menstruation. Now a new study has shown that a woman’s behaviour will change change according to the phase of her menstrual cycle to the extent that her urge to shop eat is altered.

Hormones have played an evolutionary role in shaping the behaviour of humans; both women and men. While it might not be comfortable to contemplate that those behaviours which evolved in response to basic biological factors are still operating within you, it is a fact. Of course, being aware of those primitive motivators can allow you to transcend them and that is the real value of this latest research.

For the study women were asked to keep a detailed diary over a 35 day period. The diary was to track their food consumption, choices in clothing, purchases, and Beauty habits. The findings showed some striking uniformities in how behaviour changed according to where a woman was in her menstrual cycle.

When women were in the fertile phase of their cycle (days 8-15) they spent more time doing their make-up, more time sun-bathing, and wore more attention-grabbing clothes. They also tended to spend more money on clothes during this fertile phase.

By contrast in the later phase of the cycle, days 26 to 28, there was a spike in food purchasing and a tendency to eat higher kilojoule foods.

The researchers say that these behaviours have their roots in evolution. The same psychological and physical mechanisms that drove a woman toward mating behaviours in the past during her fertile phase, now drive her to purchase clothes and beautify herself. In our evolutionary past when a woman could not conceive in the later part of the cycle she would engage in food gathering activities and that translates into food buying and eating today.

This is all part of a lot of research that is going on into the evolutionary roots of consumer behaviour. The real point of this though is that although these primitive forces are present in all of us, by becoming aware of them you can transcend them. Your behaviour is biologically influenced; not biologically determined. Knowing that these urges can be at unconscious play within you allows you to consciously take control of your consumption choices by overriding the atavistic influences.

The researchers involved in this study have even suggested that a consumption-related app might be a good thing. This app could help women make empowered consumer choices by delivering a smart-phone warning to the effect of, “It’s day 10, don’t go clothes shopping”. Perhaps men too should have a similar version of the app that would warn, “It’s day 12; cancel the credit cards”, or perhaps “It’s day 26 stay away from expensive restaurants” or even “It’s day 28, don’t bother arguing”.