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Why Do We Eat So Much? (Science of Social Dynamics)

3,366 views · Published 12 September 2016 · 4:51 · Indexed 24 September 2026

Channel: Mario Tomic · 2016 · Howto & Style

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In this video you'll learn why do we eat so much in certain social settings and possible effects of social dynamics on overeating.

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There's a lot of things that influence how much we eat, and when the goal is to stay in a calorie deficit understanding these factors can make the whole process easier.

A lot of things that drive us to consume more food are internal and what we often forget the effects that the environment has on us.

And this is particularly true for the effects of social dynamics on overeating.

In certain social settings you're more likely to overeat.

Looking at the research I came across a very fascinating study published in December 2015 in the Journal of Environment & Behavior titled "The Waiters Weight: Does a Servers BMI Relate to How Much Food Diners Order?" https://eab.sagepub.com/content/early/2015/10/29/0013916515621108.abstract

The study conclusion was that we're more likely to order more food and drinks when served by an overweight waiter or waitress.

"In a novel approach, we showed that diners can be influenced by their surroundings in general and furthermore by their social interactions in particular," Tim Döring and Brian Wansink wrote in their study. "This study suggests that it does not take profound interactions between individuals to alter their eating behavior.”

In the study they visited 60 restaurants and observed a total of 497 interactions between people and servers.

The research assistants recorded the estimated body characteristics of both the diners and the servers and they also measured how much food and drink was ordered.

At the end of the study they found that diners were 4 times more likely to order dessert and ordered 17% more alcoholic drinks when their server had a BMI that was over 25.

A BMI of 25 is considered overweight.

Now you might be thinking why does this happen? It's actually quite simple when you think about it.

The authors concluded "Diners may order and eat more food and beverages in the presence of a heavy person because a heavy person sets a social norm".

Being reactive to the social norm in a particular environment is a very subtle effect that most of aren't aware of.

And as you can see, this can have a big influence on our decision making.

In general, a lot of our behavior is governed by "group think".

We like to go with the flow and outsource the thinking process.

After all, it would take your brain an enormous amount of energy to figure out all the day-to-day decisions you have to me.

We follow to crowd at the traffic light without even looking if there's a car coming.

And we stop at an ice-cream shop that has the most "social proof" and people in-line.

"If others are doing it, it must be good!"

This is an effect that a lot of people aren't aware of and it has a massive impact on your life.

Fun fact is that some restaurants, such as the chain Hooters, have faced lawsuits for firing overweight employees.

And at least looking at this research that might not be the business decision.

We underestimate the effect our friends, colleges and family have on our eating behavior.

One classic study published in the The New England Journal of Medicine (https://media.timesfreepress.com/docs/2010/01/Obesity_studies_0104.pdf) looked at records of over 12000 people taking part in the Framingham health study and found that if someone became obese, their friends were 57% more likely to become obese over the 32 years.

A study like this also proves how much our own behavior can influence people around us.

And it's our responsibility once we know how to help people to spread that information and make the world a better place. (As cheesy as that sounds).

Let me know in the comments below how you resonated with this.

And I'll talk to you again soon!

-Mario

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