Consumers are more likely to make food and beverage choices—like consuming high- or low-calorie options and large portions—when other people are making the same choices, according to a new study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
University of Liverpool researchers conducted a systematic review of several experimental studies, each of which examined whether or not providing information about other peoples' eating habits influences food intake or choices.
The review looked at a total of fifteen studies—eight examined how information about food intake norms influenced food consumed by participants; seven other studies reported the effects of food choice norms on how people decide what food to eat.
The meta-analysis found that if participants were given information indicating that others were making low-calorie or high-calorie food choices, it significantly increased the likelihood that participants made similar choices. Also, data indicate that social norms influence the quantity of food eaten. Additionally, suggesting that others eat large portions increased food intake by the participants.
"It appears that in some contexts, conforming to informational eating norms may be a way of reinforcing identity to a social group, which is in line with social identity theory," said lead investigator Eric Robinson, Ph.D. "By this social identity account, if a person's sense of self is strongly guided by their identity as a member of their local community and that community is perceived to eat healthily, then that person would be hypothesized to eat healthily in order to maintain a consistent sense of social identity."
The analysis also revealed that the social mechanisms that influence what we decide to consume are present even when we eat alone or are at work, whether or not we are aware of it.
"The evidence reviewed here is consistent with the idea that eating behaviors can be transmitted socially," said Robinson. "Policies or messages that normalize healthy eating habits or reduce the prevalence of beliefs that lots of people eat unhealthily may have beneficial effects on public health."
