#11 Who decides what you eat? – You or your social circle?

We all love food and no doubt about it! But how come many of us eat less when we dine alone and tend to eat lots when we are in a friends’ company? Apart from the fact that you end up paying less and eating more when among a group, it’s a question to ponder upon right? Do you think it might have something to do with our psychology? Do you? Keep thinking……

Let us begin with a very simple question. Can you all tell me why do we eat food? The majority of your answers will be “because I am hungry”. But do we actually consume food only when we are hungry? No not at all! When we see the sight of food, we immediately start drooling over it regardless us being hungry or not. Take another instance, you are with a group of people and the entire group is munching over food. Can you control yourselves by not eating along with them? You would have a feeling of being isolated from the group if you don’t eat along with them. Similarly, when the group is eating dish A, the chances of you ordering dish B is minimal as you might think you will sound out of place. By now, this question must have popped out in your mind, “So does it mean the people who eat along with me decide what and when to eat for me?” The answer is yes! They not only influence your eating choice and duration but also your consumption volume.

Now days, socializing and attending social functions have become an integral part of our lives. The more we socialize, the more is the standard we have among our society and friends. Almost every social party takes place over food as it serves as an important means to talk and initiate discussions. So what happens to your eating habits when you socialize with a familiar group of people and with an unfamiliar group of people? Will it remain the same or will it change? Let us find out!

So what happens when you eat along with a familiar group of people, say your close friends? Your consumption of food increases. Eating with a familiar group of people makes your meal to be very enjoyable, very relaxing and also very long. Moreover, you tend to forget your eating patterns and norms when you are with them and you tend to eat as they eat because your primary goal is to have fun with them.

On the contrary, what happens when you are eating with unfamiliar people, say at a first date or at a job interview? Over there, your primary goal would be to be in your best behavior and be self aware of what you are doing and not eating. This results in you eating lesser than what you usually eat.

Therefore, what we eat, when we eat and how much we eat while we are in a social group depends on whom we eat with. So next time when you meet up for a social get together, you might find this article helpful.