Do we eat better to impress others?

Do we eat better to impress others?


We all want to put our best foot forward, especially around strangers. But many of us apparently harbor a dark secret about our diets. These folks eat donuts and fried foods at home or in front of friends, but select broccoli and peas when eating with people outside their social circle.

Scientists working out of the City University of London say this is a real gastric phenomenon. At the heart of this tendency is a fear of being negatively judged by a group of strangers.

Researchers conducted a series of experiments involving about 1,000 volunteers asked to make food choices in different groups of people. In one experiment, a group of university students was offered a choice between raisins or M&M candies. In the presence of a student from their own school, participants more often picked the M&Ms. When placed in a group with those from another school, more than double the number of students selected the healthier raisins.

Another test offered carrots or cookies. One group of participants was told they were eating in a judgmental crowd, a second was told the diners around them were tolerant.

The people eating among the judgmental more often ate carrots, eschewing the sugary treat.

The conclusion is we don’t want to be judged. We want to impress the people we don’t know. The implication is that the people who already know us are accepting of our foibles. That first impression has already come and gone.

If your goal is to eat a healthier diet, tell yourself that good food choices are going to impress the people around you.

You can sneak off with the M&Ms when nobody is looking.

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