Study Shows Eating with Overweight Person May Spur You to Over Eat
Woodstock Ontario – A study published this week by Southern Illinois University suggests that eating a meal in company with someone who is overweight increases the likelihood that the non-overweight person will also consume more unhealthy food. It is interesting that the study finds people may in fact increase their portion sizes by the simple presence of an overweight person even if the overweight person moderates their own portions. The test involved a sample of 82 college coeds who were observed helping themselves to a simple pasta and salad meal. Each of the coeds were themselves of normal weight. The students first required to watch what they believed was a fat woman serving herself some of the food. The fat woman was actually an actress wearing a fat suit.
After observing the “corpulent” woman serve herself, the students were allowed to come forward and serve themselves pasta and salad. On average, the coeds each served themselves more pasta than the “fat” woman had selected while taking less salad than she did. When the same study was performed with the actress appearing sans the fat suit, researchers observed that students ended up eating more salad than pasta. The conclusion was simple: people may consume more unhealthy food and eat less healthy food when in the presence of an overweight person. As to why this is the case, the researchers believe that it may have something to do with the drive to achieve or maintain a healthier image diminishing in the presence of an overweight person.
The findings certainly suggest that there are a number of factors people have to be aware of in their quest to maintain a healthy diet and weight level. Previous studies already found that children eat more when sharing a meal in the company of friends than if they ate before strangers. If the child eats with an overweight friend, they may eat as many as 300 calories more than normal. That amount of additional food intake is sufficient to add weight over time. In a similar vein, a woman will actually eat 100 calories less in the company of a man than in the presence of a gal pal. The risk of weight gain increases in an intimate relationship. A person whose partner is obese runs a 37% risk of becoming obese themselves. Put another way, better than one in every three persons paired up with a fat partner will eventually pork out.
However, not everyone in the professional community is willing to embrace the research quickly. Professor John Dixon, Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute’s head of clinical obesity research, admits that the research is interesting, but suggests that at the same time it should be viewed with suspicion. While he wasn’t clear just what a person should be suspicious about, he stated the findings represent a short-term observation of how people eat. Presumably, Dr. Dixon would like to see if these eating patterns remained consistent over a longer period of time. In his own studies, he found that discussing obesity in a formal setting with people had the effect of encouraging them to eat leaner, at least immediately following the discussion.
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