Dr. Howard Smith Reports

Eating With Others Promotes Overeating


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Vidcast:  https://youtu.be/WvHoBd12TtE

 

When you dine socially, you consume 48% more food than when you eat alone.  This conclusion comes from a meta-analysis of some 42 studies of group versus solo food consumption just published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

 

On the other hand, eating with a group of strangers did not increase food consumption. The investigators conjecture that many of us feel we must eat modestly when doing so with those we don’t know or wish to impress.

 

With the food fests of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas/Chanukah on the horizon, be aware of what you’re putting in your mouth.  Maybe it’s best to have more coming out of your mouth in the form of stimulating conversation than going into your gut.

 

Helen K Ruddock, Jeffrey M Brunstrom, Lenny R Vartanian, Suzanne Higgs. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the social facilitation of eating. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2019; 110 (4): 842 DOI: 10.1093/ajcn/nqz155

 

#Socialeating #overeating

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Dr. Howard Smith ReportsBy Howard G. Smith MD, AM