Our food choices are influenced by social norms, study suggests

Social cues affect choices we make on a daily basis, from how we dress to what kind of car we drive. But now, research published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics suggests that what other people eat influences our own food choices.

Conducting a meta-analysis from 15 studies published in 11 different publications, researchers examined whether or not other peoples' eating habits influenced food intake levels or food choices.

Of the studies, eight looked at how food consumption norms affected the amount of food consumed by study participants, while seven others analyzed how food choice norms affected what people chose to eat.

Lead investigator Eric Robinson, of the University of Liverpool in the UK, says that "in some contexts, conforming to informational eating norms may be a way of reinforcing identity to a social group, which is in line with social identity theory."

And the researchers found consistent evidence that social norms do influence food.

If study participants received information about whether others made low- or high-calorie food choices, they were more likely to make similar choices. In addition, if the participants were told that others were eating larger amounts of food, they also increased their own food intake.

The researchers say this suggests a strong association between eating and social identity.

Study 'could shape public policies'