Chances are, you’ve heard about the now-famous Harvard study showing that having overweight or obese friends makes you 57 percent more likely to be overweight yourself. But in an interesting twist, a new study in The Journal of Consumer Research shows that skinny people with bad habits can be just as hazardous to your health.
The study authors asked 210 college students to serve themselves food while watching a movie with another “student,” who was actually an undercover researcher. When the researcher, who was 105 pounds and naturally thin, served herself large portions, the students she was paired with did the same; when she served herself a smaller portion, the students she was paired with followed suit, leading the researchers to believe that people mimic the eating habits of the thin. (Thank goodness Sara–my frequent dining companion and better half here at Svelte Gourmand–is a whiz at portion control, or I might have a lot more trouble squeezing into my skinny jeans).
So are the habits of non-thin people equally contagious? Sort of. As the Harvard research revealed, people are unconsciously influenced by bad habits of overweight friends. But the Consumer Research study found that people aren’t as easily influenced by heavy strangers. In fact, when the naturally thin undercover researcher put on an “obesity prosthesis” and masqueraded as a heavier person, the students she was paired with actually scaled back on how much they ate.
For better or worse, we’re more influenced by other people’s behavior than we realize … meaning it’s a smart idea to place yourself in the company of friends who act healthy, rather than those who just look the part.
–Camille
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Camille
