Do You Eat Less in the Company of Men?

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Do You Eat Less in the Company of Men?

August 11, 2009

A recent study conducted in three university dining halls found that women changed their food choices depending on the gender of their companions.

When eating one-on-one with a guy, the girls ate foods that contained significantly fewer calories than when eating with female companions. The study found a couple more examples of behavior worth noting that were published in the journal Appetite:

Overall, group size was not a significant predictor of calories, but women's calories were negatively predicted by numbers of men in the group, while the numbers of women in the group had a marginally significant positive impact on calorie estimates. Men's calorie totals were not affected by total numbers of men or women.

I found this fascinating and am wondering if you find these behaviors true for you.

Source: Getty

43 Comments

Yogaforlife 3 years 40 weeks

Thanks biarose. Not conquered yet, but definitely a work in progress! My Benny is a smooth collie/australian cattle dog cross.

biarose 3 years 40 weeks

Dude, I would eat more around guys 'cause otherwise they think you're just a little woosy girl which is really annoying. It annoys me though, because if you ate a salad or something they'd be like aw, you don't eat enough, you don't need to diet or something.. and it's like, um, how do you think I get this body? Do you think if I ate like you I would look like this? They are delusional! They want women to be thin, but they want them to eat like a man too! Sorry fellas, they don't work together!

biarose 3 years 40 weeks

hey Yogaforlife.. well done you sound like you've been through a lot and have really conquered it! P.S. love your dog, looks just like my grandparents dog Sally

3 years 40 weeks

You might 'qualify' and further validate this study by asking more questions about relationships and gender. The choice to eat less may be part of a willingness to please or not please that influencing man. There may be other mitigating factors. That it is done isn't as relevant as why it is done.

ali321 3 years 40 weeks

I'd say I might eat more just because they're often paying. lol. Plus they eat more and it seems to make it so I don't pay as much attention to what I'm eating.

cg130 3 years 40 weeks

I mostly worry about guys judging me for eating too little. I'm a pretty healthy eater, and if I was going out to a restaurant with friends, I would usually order a salad/other type of veggie with protein (chicken, fish etc), but I worry that guys will think "I don't eat" or something like that.

runswimmerrun 3 years 41 weeks

I eat more around guys. I guess in my mind I am being "one of the guys" and a "real woman" or something like that.

3 years 41 weeks

I actually eat more around men and less around females.

ilanac13 3 years 41 weeks

i can happily say that i don't change the amount that i eat even when i'm around guys. i know that some girls do - but to be honest, i've found that guys don't have any different opinion of you regardless of what you eat.

sourcherry 3 years 41 weeks

I actually try to eat more around everyone, male or female. I'm just not used to eating large quantities at a time. At home I'm eating and snaking all the time, but in small portions. It's just the way I've always been. But since men tend to tease me more about it than women, I make a bigger effort to eat more in front of them.

BeautifulHealth 3 years 41 weeks

Heck no! I actually eat more around guys because I feel more comfortable around them. I have a larger appetite than most women, so I actually feel self conscious about this fact when I'm around other women and eat less.

PirateKitty 3 years 41 weeks

They only time you should eat less around a man is if the conversation is so fabulous that you don't even think to pick up your fork!

gigglesss 3 years 41 weeks

i find myself eating less when i'm nervous or with people i don't really know that well. With my close friends and family i tend to eat as i always do. But for some weird reason i have a major loss of appetite on first dates, special events, or with people I'm not familiar with..

Spectra 3 years 41 weeks

I think when I was younger and cared more about what people thought, I ate less when I was around other people period, men and women both. Now, I'm a lot more comfortable with myself and I'll eat whatever I dang well feel like. Sometimes I'll eat salads and people give me crap for it, too..."You're so skinny, you can eat more than a salad. Get a burger or something!" Why do people feel the need to comment like that? What if I WANT a salad? Incidentally, I have a huge appetite. I can probably out-eat most men if I'm really hungry. That's why I have to eat a lot of fruits and veggies to fill up. If I ate chips until I felt full, I'd probably polish off two or three bags of them.

Soniabonya 3 years 41 weeks

I don't really change my eating habits around anyone., though I monitor what my stomach is telling me and that will cuase me to eat more or less depending on the food available. But I don't hold back with guys or girls.

3 years 41 weeks

OHHH that picture if from my university's (UC Berkeley) dining commons. Go Bears!

kclulu 3 years 41 weeks

I eat the way I eat regardless of who I am around but I agree with Francoisehardly, it is a shame women feel that eating a salad will somehow reflect negatively on them and so we eat pizza and burgers to prove that we eat and aren't uptight about food. I eat very clean and very healthy and I get a lot of shit for it from other people, especially women. I get a lot of eye rolls and I am often told "you can afford to eat that" which is frustrating to me because the reason I am in shape and look the way I do is because I eat cleanly and exercise consistently. If I ate pizza and junk food everytime I was with people, I would gain weight! I also tend to suffer from IBS so eating processed food and fatty food does not agree with me and I don't want to spend the next day in the bathroom so I can eat like everyone else. I don't understand why people care so much about what others are eating in the first place. Mind your own plate:)

TammyO 3 years 41 weeks

I pack it in no matter who I'm with.

pookie poo 3 years 41 weeks

Well I find myself eating less in stressful situations (i.e work social events or first dates) and this is not becuase I want to appear a certain way but it just happens without me thinking about it. However, if I am with people I know well, male or demale, I ate like I always do.

kurniakasih 3 years 41 weeks

I usually can out-eat any males I know to the point they told me to go on an eating competition b/c they thought I have a chance of winning. LOL. As for in front of women, I don't usually regulate my eating habit too, but I have had another woman basically made fun of me when it came to my eating, eh, but still I don't care, I eat what I want...the only thing I put into consideration is the price of the food :D NOT what people (men or women) are going to think about when I eat a lot.

Teagan 3 years 41 weeks

I actually eat LESS around women because so many are so freaky about what they eat. It's a competition on who eats the least when I am out with women, but with men they don't judge, so I feel better eating more than lettuce and a tomato.

GlowingMoon 3 years 41 weeks

I eat the same with women and men. It makes no difference to me. This past weekend, my husband and I were dining with his work friends. I was starving, and I think I ate the most among everybody (including the men). I polished-off my plate of fried chicken, cole slaw, and baked beans. I even announced to everybody what tasted best, and what to avoid. :) Then I proceeded to eat my slice of pie. My husband didn't want his piece of pie, so I ate HIS, too. The funny thing is, I'm really petite. People probably thought I had a tapeworm. :)

GirlOverboard 3 years 41 weeks

I went with "no," but not because my eating habits don't change - I just don't eat less. In fact, I tend to eat MORE. If I'm out with a bunch of guys, I tend to go into "dude mode." I tend to drink more beer, scarf down more food (especially if meals are being shared/appetizers are ordered) and my sailor's mouth becomes much more apparent... and it's not just me. Many of my girl friends are the same way. I remember way, way back in Junior High, a friend of mine absolutely could not even eat in front of guys. If she knew that there were guys looking her direction while trying to eat, she just wouldn't - she'd practically have a panic attack about it, as if girls aren't supposed to eat or that a guy would find her less attractive for "stuffing her face," even if stuffing her face meant putting a baby carrot or two into her mouth... Yet she had no qualms about talking to me on the phone while in the bathroom dropping a twosie. I never understood it.

hlj504 3 years 41 weeks

Why did I just type "they?" I meant "I!" Oops!

hlj504 3 years 41 weeks

They probably should, hahaha...but they don't. I love to eat! :)

Link Love

43 Comments

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