We’ve probably all heard about the power of association. There’s a tangible link between the way we behave and the men and women we have friendships with. But we might have thought the similarities would reveal themselves in our attitudes and personal tastes – for instance we often support the same institutions and vote for the same parties as our friends.
Lately though, studies are claiming that we will have more tendency to be overweight if we hang around with others who are overweight. We will eat more when in the company of good friends who eat more. A small study undertaken in America found that overweight kids and teenagers ate more when they were eating with a friend who was also overweight, than when they ate with a normal weight child.
In fact more was eaten by all sizes when in the company of friends. Although the most food of all was eaten when two heavy chums were teamed up. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition reported on this research. It illustrated the part friends play in the actions of each other.
It’s quite natural that many kids ate more when they were relaxed about who they were with. Both children and adults are less self-conscious when they’re with friends rather than strangers. It’s possible however that in addition, we assume friends will give their consent. Subconsciously we’re placing the permission ball in someone else’s court.
Over 60 kids and teens of all sizes were reviewed for three quarters of an hour. Some were put with a person they knew well, and some with an unfamiliar person. Every couple had things to play with and food to eat.
With each of the pairs, the ones who knew each other before the experiment got through more food than the ones who didn’t. But overweight friends ate the most of all. And the differences were quite significant.
The heavier friends together consumed an average of almost 750 cals each. Heavy kids with standard weight chums ate just under 450 cals, and standard weight kids ate approx 500 cals whatever weight their mate was. Similar ‘friendly’ peer pressure is also evident when kids decide whether to start smoking.
In conclusion, the researchers suggested that the kids and teens social networks were mainly determining how much food they ate. Yet this power of association can be beneficial, as positive influences are just as possible as negative ones. Hence the necessity to educate the young.
