by Meghan Rizzo

Created on: July 16, 2010   Last Updated: July 27, 2010

Guilty pleasures vary from one person to the next, but the easiest means of exemplifying this concept is by discussing food.  Food, in itself, is a positive thing.  It nourishes the body, provides energy, brings people together, and is necessary for survival.  However, one can always have ‘too much of a good thing.’ 

Over-indulgence leads to guilt which is useful since guilt, in turn, leads to temperance.  It’s the pleasure factor that makes things difficult.  Therefore, one may find him or herself wolfing down the latest fast-food cholesterol special with the excuse that it is a ‘guilty pleasure.’  The offense, however, is mild and ensuing feelings of guilt are short-lived.  Indulging in a guilty pleasure on occasion is acceptable and normal behavior.  It is when one is unable to control such indulgences that the guilty pleasure becomes an addiction.  In these cases, the feelings of guilt outlast and outweigh the feelings of pleasure. 

The term ‘guilty pleasure’ generally applies only to adolescents and adults.  A four year old will not and should not feel ashamed after eating an ice-cream sundae the size of his or her head; a 40 year old will feel shame (and rightfully so since the head-size of the latter is most certainly going to be greater than that of the former).  However, if such gargantuan sundaes are consumed only on occasion, and the person indulging leads an otherwise healthy lifestyle, there is no need for guilt.  He or she might openly express feelings of guilt, but often only to keep up appearances; society frowns upon decadence.

This leads us to another quality of the guilty pleasure.  Those foods that can be correctly classified as guilty pleasures are foods in which any intelligent, self-respecting adult should hold no interest.  Society has dictated so, and any person who wishes to take part in such pleasures might feel compelled to do so in secret. 

For example, Kraft Macaroni and Cheese is somewhat lacking in nutritional value, but many adults will sneak a few spoonfuls of that delicious processed-powdered-orange-stuff and noodles from the pot  before serving the kids.  Furthermore, everyone - with the exception of your self-respecting upstanding citizen of an author, of course - knows that shaped macaroni tastes even better than the standard elbows.  Should you find yourself heating up

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