NEW YORK – Whether stressed or depressed, almost everyone has a favorite go-to dish that seems to help make everything all better. In the United States, that comfort food is pizza, according to a new Harris Poll.

Just more than half (53%) of Americans indicate they eat more when they’re stressed and two-thirds (67%) agree they use their favorite comfort food as a pick-me-up. And when they do indulge, two-thirds (66%) suggest they don’t feel guilty after eating their favorite comfort food.

When it comes to comfort food, 15% of Americans cite pizza as their No. 1 choice, followed by a chocolate and ice cream tie (7% each), with mac and cheese and chips rounding out the top five (5% and 4%, respectively).

Breaking it down by demographics, pizza is the top choice for just about everyone, with the exception of the 70+ crowd (Matures), who turn instead to ice cream. However, some clear differences arise for second and third choices:

• Women turn to chocolate and ice cream as their second and third choices, respectively, while men opt for ice cream and then chips.
• Ice cream is the second choice for Easterners and Southerners, while Midwesterners turn to chocolate and Westerners prefer mac and cheese. In third place, those in the South and West opt for chocolate, while those in the Midwest want ice cream and the East wants mac and cheese.
• While chocolate is number two for Gen Xers, it comes in at third for all other generations. Millennials’ second choice is mac and cheese, while Baby Boomers opt for ice cream and the Matures go for steak. Gen Xers name chips as their third place pick.

Comfort food also has its time and place. When they’re sick, Americans turn to soup. Roughly six in 10 Americans name soup as their go-to food when they’re sick, with nearly four in 10 (39%) mentioning it more broadly, and an additional 22% specifically mentioning chicken soup. Soups reign supreme as the top two under-the-weather foods across all key demographics. The top five foods eaten while sick are rounded out by ice cream (3%), toast (2%) and pizza (2%).

When it comes to celebrating a special occasion, Americans continue to have differing top choices. Steak holds strong at No. 1, with more than two in 10 (22%) adults choosing it as their favorite special occasion meal, while 12% turn to cake. Rounding out the top five celebratory dishes are pizza (7%), lobster (4%) and other types of seafood (3%).

So when do Americans turn to their favorite comfort food? More than four in 10 say they need an edible pick-me-up when they’re stressed (45%) or after a really bad day (43%). One third (33%) indicate they turn to a comfort food when they’re depressed. However, not everyone needs to be down in the dumps to dig into their favorite comfort food. Nearly four in 10 indicate they’ll turn to their tried and true dish after a really good day (38%) or on their birthday (37%).

More distantly, 13% indicate they reach for comfort food after a break-up and, among those 21 or older, 9% each say they need that special dish either the day after or during a night of heavy drinking.

Though Americans may not feel guilty after indulging, four in 10 (41%) indicate they’ll sometimes work out longer or more intensely to justify eating a favorite comfort food. This is particularly true of Millennials, compared to their older counterparts (57% vs. 42% Gen Xers, 29% Baby Boomers and 22% Matures).