How your choice of friends affects what you eat

It might just be time to alter that familiar saying, “You are what you eat.”

Perhaps it should be changed to “You are what the people you pal around with eat.”

That’s what researchers in the UK concluded after reviewing 15 studies of dietary habits.

The desire to “fit in,” they found, could well determine how fit you are.

If, for example, the friends you have lunch with are having a salad, some salmon and fruit for dessert, that’s probably what you’ll be ordering.

But if your buddies like to gather at Mickey D’s, wolfing down some cheeseburgers and fries, you’re likely to do likewise.

But this desire to be ‘in with the in crowd’ isn’t just limited to the times you’re out with them. It seems the way you eat in private is also influenced by what the researchers called your “perceived group norm.”

So if you want to eat better, it might be a good idea to hang out with ‘picky eaters’ who set a good example of what and what not to order. Or if you can’t, you might try setting one yourself — and getting your friends to say, “I’ll have what she’s having.”

Source:
“I’ll have what they’re having: study finds social norms influence food choices” December 30, 2013, Elsevier, elsvier.com