Overweight Friends Eat More When They Dine Together

“Overweight children and teenagers may eat more when they have a snack with an overweight friend rather than a thinner peer, a new study suggests. In a study of 9- to 15-year-olds, researchers found that all kids, regardless of their weight, tended to eat more when they had the chance to snack with a friend than when they were with a peer they did not know. But the biggest calorie intakes were seen when an overweight child snacked with an overweight friend. The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, highlight the role of friends' influence in how much kids eat -- and, possibly, in their weight control. It's not surprising that children eat more when they are with friends instead of strangers, according to lead researcher Dr. Sarah-Jean Salvy, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the State University of New York at Buffalo. The same pattern has been found in adults, Salvy told Reuters Health in an email. This, she explained, may be partly because people are more self-conscious around strangers, and partly because friends act as ‘permission-givers.’

http://www.reutershealth.com/archive/2009/08/19/eline/links/20090819elin004.html