Size of dining partner influences portion size

What you choose to eat may be influenced by who you're eating with, according to new research. The study found that people tend to eat an amount of food that is similar to the portion consumed by the person they're dining with. Dining with someone who is thin but who eats a lot of food, in particular, may cause you to overeat.

The study involved 210 college students who were recruited for what they thought was a study on movie watching. They were paired with a fellow student who was actually a researcher involved in the study. The researchers were either naturally small (average weight of 105 pounds) or wore padding to appear obese (about 180 pounds). The student and fake-student/researcher were offered snacks to enjoy during the movie. The researcher was offered food first and took either a small or large amount of food. The student was then offered food.

The study found that the student usually took an amount of food similar to what their partner took, regardless of the researcher's size. However, the size of the dining partner mattered, somewhat. When the researcher was obese, the students tended to adjust their food intake somewhat. However, when the researcher was thin, the student tended to mimic the researcher's eating pattern.

"We show that it is not simply eating with heavy people that makes you eat more (or less); it depends on what these other consumers choose," the authors wrote. ". . .in many cases the most dangerous people to eat with are not those who are overweight, but those who are thin but are heavy eaters."

The study was conducted by researchers at Duke University, the University of British Columbia and Arizona State University. It will be published online this week in the Journal of Consumer Research.

-- Shari Roan

Photo credit: Lori Shepler  /  Los Angeles Times

 

Comments

[sirene]

It seems to me that this article says absolutely nothing - "the size mattered somewhat". If this is a study, there are quantified results - why not include them in the article?

[Big Jim Slade]

And the Times fat assault continues. Yesterday a "feature" on taxing snack foods. Today an article on how it would be best to socially avoid being around fat people. Let's face it, without fat folks many restaurants would cease to exist.

Personally I was hoping for a stupid assault. As in how our state is being run. As in how our federal government is being run. As in how our city is being run. As in how this newspaper has degenerated over the last twenty years. Or even today's riveting discussion on "let them take heroin".

Alas, I predict tomorrow we'll have another fat assault on how breathing the same air as fat people is dangerous. Maybe we could waterboard them, eh?

[Jill]

I agree the article loses meaning, at the line "sirene" notes. However, I did not feel this news article made a negative statement about obesity, rather it reports how the study clarifies negative, erroneous beliefs in society about those who are obese.

[hello_stupid]

what are you kidding? that it's dangerous to eat with a thin person??? obesity is a huge huge problem in the u.s. if the obese only hang out with each other it reaffirms to them that the small people are just an anomaly.

[Pablo]

Regardless of what size-sensitive people think, obesity is a huge problem in our country. Figuring out how we reached this level of crisis could prove essential in figuring out how to address the problem.

Personally, I'd rather pay for this study than continue to pay into a Medicare system that buys electric scooters for the morbidly obese. The last thing these people need is another enabling device that keeps them from getting a little exercise as they go to the buffets table.

[Don Skinner]

I find it interesting that this study also mirrors other findings of increased consumption created by the number of people you dine with. Researchers at the Cornell University Food Lab discovered these dining behavioral statistics as proof. Showing that the more people in the group, the more e-v-e-r-y-o-n-e will eat and drink.
Picture ground zero as being the amount you would normally eat and drink if you just went out by yourself. What statisticians call the baseline in the experiment.
Guess what. If you dine with just one other person your consumption jumps up on average by 37%. But that’s just the beginning. Add one more for a trio, and it hurdles to 42% over base. A four-top has you shooting up to 58%. While a party of six leaps to an impressive 65% increase of consumption over your individual baseline habits.
But hold onto you hat for the real kicker. This one’s a mind-blower.
Dining with a crew of seven or more friends skyrockets your overall eating and drinking habits to a whopping 98 per cent higher than if you were dining solo. We’re talking about a serious wakeup call that’s sweet music to the ears of any restaurant, bar, or club owner.
Don Skinner - Pack Your Restaurant