Thus far I have discussed how our food consumption is impacted by how many people we eat with and who those people are. In this final entry on the social influence on eating, I will discuss how we model our behaviour according to the people in our surroundings and sum up the topic of social influence.
Modelling
In a nutshell what studies on modelling tells us is that we eat more when we are with companions who eat more, and eat less when we are with companions who eat less. We mirror the eating behaviour of the people we are with.
In one study for example, an experimental confederate ate either 10 or 40 crackers and it was found that participants ate more when paired with a high-consumption confederate than when paired with a low consumption confederate. (A ‘confederate’ is a person whose behaviour is directed by the experimenter but who is meant to appear as if she were just another participant in the experiment)
Obesity is contagious
In another study which may relate to the concept of modelling, researchers found that obesity is contagious among friends;
We find that having four obese friends doubled people’s chance of becoming obese compared to people with no obese friends
–Alison Hill
Again other researchers found that;
obesity spread in social networks in a quantifiable and discernable pattern that depends on the nature of social ties. Moreover, social distance appears to be more important than geographic distance within these networks
This is particularly pronounced with friends of one’s own sex. Having an overweight neighbour seems not to increase one’s risk of becoming overweight oneself.
Likewise and probably less surprising, the person who handles the predominant shopping and cooking has an overwhelming influence on what is eaten in the household. Estimates based on various researches in the US are that this person drives approximately 60–80% choices in the household. Obviously these numbers will be affected by culture and eating patterns. This last point became all too obvious to a friend of mine, who recently went on a diet, just to realize that her children otherwise unprovoked started eating more healthy as a consequence.
Conclusion on the social influence on eating
With only a modest degree of oversimplification, we may conclude that:
- When we eat in groups, we tend to eat more (social facilitation).
- When we eat in the presence of others who we believe are observing or evaluating us in some sense or the other, we tend to eat less than when we eat alone – well, unless we misunderstand how to impress others or are (impression management).
- When we eat in the presence of ‘models’ that consistently eat a lot or a little, we likewise tend to eat a lot or a little, respectively. Eating is contagious!
- Doing the shopping and the cooking signifies influence and implicit responsibility!
References & recommended readinG
- Nicholas A. Christakis, M.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., and James H. Fowler, Ph.D. “The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network Over 32 Years”, The New England journal of medicine.
- Nicholas Christakis: The Hidden Influence of Social Networks. (TED Talk)