Does the sex or the number of your dinner companions influence how much you eat? New research shows that depending on who they are eating with, females eat differently. A new study in the journal Appetite observed college men and women eating in the school cafeteria. Men did not appear to be influenced by outside sources, including how many people they ate with or whether their companions were male or female. But according to the study, women were a different story. When a woman ate with a man, they ate less than they did when eating with another woman. When women ate with a mixed group, they tended to eat less than they did in a group of all women. As soon as a man entered the equation, they ate less. When women ate with a group of all women, the bigger the group, the more they tended to eat. Why the difference? Are they eating less with men to impress? Do they even notice these factors are affecting their dining habits? If I eat out with a group of people, I'm influenced by them to a certain extent. If it's a group who's trying to eat healthy, I'm much more likely to pick from the lighter side of the menu. I'm also less likely to order dessert if no one else is indulging. But if the person next to me decides to try the chocolate cake or apple pie, I can't say that I'm not more tempted. For me, it doesn't matter if my dinner companions are male or female or how big the group happens to be. I don't know if that's because I'm no longer college-age, because I'm married, or some other factor. Do you find that your food choices are influenced by other men or women? Does it matter whether the group is large or small? How do you deal with these influences? |
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