‘I proved that consuming pizza actually does calm nerves whereas watching soccer’

Footie fans can breathe a sigh of relief, as boffins have discovered that munching on pizza can actually help keep the nerves at bay during a match.

Theo Baker, host of the Pitch Side podcast, was put through his paces while watching a series of nail-biting football clips. His blood pressure and heart rate were tracked, alongside his Galvanic Skin Response (GSR), a measure of emotional arousal.

Before pizza entered the equation, Theo’s stats were all over the shop, with spikes aplenty. But once the aroma of a cooking pizza hit his nostrils, things started to level out.

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And finally getting to eat a slice of stuffed crust salt and pepper chicken pizza helped him relax even further.

Professor Oli Buckley from the University of East Anglia, who teamed up with the UK’s number-one-selling frozen pizza brand Chicago Town for the research, explained: “Pizza and football go hand-in-hand. And it seems this has a scientific reason following our experiment.

“The study shows that from GSR, heart rate and the blood pressure measurements that reduces the physiological markers of arousal and stress.”

“Assessing Theo’s reactions in the two conditions, one without the pizza and one with pizza, showed that with the combined data that cooking and eating frozen pizza has a notable calming effect.”

This revelation comes hot on the heels of a survey involving 2,000 footie supporters, which highlighted that a whopping 92 per cent experience stress while watching the beautiful game.

The top three nerve-wracking moments for football fans are penalty shootouts (37 per cent), the final whistle when leading a game by a narrow margin (23 per cent), and VAR decisions (22 per cent). Fans also find it stressful when their team misses an ‘easy’ goal (15 per cent), concedes a goal ‘too easily’, or is pushing for an equaliser or winner as full-time approaches (13 per cent).

When asked which is more nerve-racking – club or international football, 40 per cent said club football, while 19 per cent found watching their national team more challenging. However, 34 per cent find both equally difficult.

The nerves usually kick in during the build-up to a significant match for 35 per cent of fans. This leads to the question – ‘why do they put themselves through it?’ – a question that 31 per cent admit they ask themselves.

Theo Baker, who played in Soccer Aid at Stamford Bridge, said: “Football is, by far, the thing that brings on the most nerves for me in life. So when I had the opportunity to see if getting stuck in to my favourite food could help with that in any way… I jumped at it.

“I knew cooking a pizza at home straight away eliminates any takeout stress of not knowing what I’ll get or when, but I didn’t expect even the smell of it cooking to make such an impact. ‘Net’ outcome? Whack a pizza in the oven, sit back and let the guys on the pitch take care of the rest.”

A whopping 29 per cent of footie fans confessed that a defeat for their beloved team leaves them in a strop ‘for days’ on end, according to fresh stats.

And it seems the stress of the beautiful game has 73 per cent of supporters turning to quirky rituals to keep their cool while glued to the telly – with 22 per cent perching nervously on the edge of their seat and 16 per cent taking deep breaths to steady their nerves.

The survey, conducted by OnePoll, even uncovered the uplifting power of the scent of a pizza baking in the oven.

A cosy 42 per cent of those quizzed reckon the aroma gives them a snug feeling of comfort, while 28 per cent get a mood lift from it.

Meanwhile, 17 per cent are filled with a buzzing sense of excitement as they await their cheesy treat.

Chicago Town’s Rachel Bradshaw added: “We understand football is a nerve-wracking passion for many fans. So we wanted to prove that food, in particular pizza, would help make the experience a bit more enjoyable and we knew partnering with a footie fan like Theo would give us the most honest results.”

The pizza giant is even running a competition on its Instagram page to ease the tension for fans during nail-biting matches.