Women who dine alone consume fewer calories
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When dining with friends, you can eat significantly more than when dining alone. A new study found that women consume an average of 150 extra calories per meal when they eat with their friends. In one lab experiment, 26 women spent three days having lunch with a friend each time, and three alone. During the three days they had a companion, they added an average of 540 calories of food.
The second experiment, which involved 63 women, showed that those who overeat in the company of friends do not later eat less, as a result of which the average woman risks gaining about 4 kg per year if she dine with others at least once a day.
People may overeat because friendly conversation distracts them. But experts also believe we may have evolved to eat more in groups.
Professor Suzanne Higgs of the University of Birmingham, author of the study published in the journal Appetite, said she “would expect the same effect in both sexes”: will give us extra calories.
The conclusion of this study is not to stop eating with friends or to eat every meal alone, but perhaps to plan ahead and order a healthier option from the menu. When you’re inviting friends over for a home-cooked dinner, it can be a good strategy to provide a fixed portion so you can’t keep piling up the food without thinking.
Christina DENISYUK.
Photo: Getty Images
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