Could Our Dining Partner Ultimately Influence How Much We Eat?

New findings published in the journal Social Influence show that how much food we consume may ultimately be influenced by who we're eating with.

Researchers at the University of New South Wales looked at how social modeling, a certain psychological effect, can cause some to eat less or more than they normally would when dining with a certain person.

"Internal signals like hunger and feeling full can often be unreliable guides. In these situations people can look to the example of others to decide how much food they should consume," lead study author Lenny Vartanian said in a news release.

For the study, researchers reviewed the results of 38 studies that examined the amount of food people consumed when they were with other individuals.

Findings showed that social factors made a huge difference in how much might be consumed.

"When the companion eats very little, people suppress their food intake and eat less than they normally would if alone," Vartanian added. "If the social model eats a large amount, people have the freedom to eat their normal intake, or even more if they want."

Furthermore, researchers noted that this was also observed with both healthy and unhealthy food choices, during meals and even when the diner was deprived of meals throughout the day. The same was also true and independent of a person's body weight, with a lasting effect that seemed to influence women more than men.