You Are What Your Friends Eat

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When you go out to eat, there's a good chance your meal will have something to do with whoever is on the other side of the table, and not just in terms of what appetizer you might share. According to new research from Duke University, people who ate with overweight companions consumed even less than they did with thinner counterparts.

The study, which was published in the Journal of Consumer Research, focused on how people's food consumption is affected by the company they keep. Researchers recruited 210 college students and monitored their intake of M&Ms or granola when they were eating with either an overweight or thin individual.

Researchers found that the college students' portions were adjusted according to the body type of the person they were eating with. If their companion was overweight, the college student consumed a significantly smaller portion, while they mimicked how much the thinner person ate.

"What others do in our social environment has a powerful influence on us, and it's happening automatically outside of their conscious awareness," says Gavan J. Fitzsimons, co-author of the study and professor of marketing and psychology at Duke University. "If the person in front of you is really large, you will correct for their influence [and eat less]." Researchers believe that this behavior may be explained because overweight people are considered to be members of a dissociative group, who are victims of stereotyping or stigmatization. People avoid the choices of those they don't want to emulate, so they make adjustments based on their perception.

Imitation, on the other hand, is the highest form of flattery, so it seems to makes sense that when someone goes out to eat with a thin friend, he or she may mimic their order. "Social influence of the people around you is pretty powerful," says Fitzimons. "If you see other people doing something and they seem to be happy and healthy, you do it as well."

However, diet dangers can arise if you're dining with a thin person who orders half the menu. "The riskiest situation was that thin person [who] eats a lot," says Fitzsimons. "Maybe they're a runner, and they're training. You go out with them, and they have a giant plate of pasta. Because they're little, you just do what they do. You don't correct for it in any way."

Anyway you spin it, this is yet another identifiable obstacle standing in the way of dieting. We're not only battling our own self-control but now the almighty powers of social influence. Outside of surrounding yourself with either overweight or skinny friends who eat lettuce leaves and carrot sticks, the only solution is to be more aware of what you're putting in your mouth and why.

Watch the video below to hear more from the researchers about their work.



Get some more tips from That's Fit for dining out without sabotaging your diet.