Posted Mar 4, 2012
A Case Western Reserve University researcher suggests that overeating might go deeper than your love of party foods.
Hungry or not, according to a report in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, some people eat in an attempt to keep others happy. People-pleasers — the type who worry most about what others think and feel — were more likely in a study to accept offers of food and match others bite for bite.
“You’re with someone who’s eating … and you feel some pressure to join them,” said Julie Exline, an associate professor of psychology who studied how
101 students at the Cleveland school handled offers of M&Ms when the person next to them was eating, too.
“People came out and said, ‘I was trying to make them feel comfortable.’ ”
That people-pleasing characteristic of putting others’ needs before one’s own is known as sociotropy, Exline said.
It shows itself in other ways, too. People-pleasers can feel guilty if they’re better than others in sports or school. They worry about hurting others’ feelings and are sensitive to criticism.
In the study, 66 percent of people said they accepted and ate M&Ms at least in part to make the other person feel comfortable.
“Overeating in groups seems to occur, in part, because social norms are being set that allow people to eat more,” Exline’s study concluded.
“For some people, however, an additional reason to eat more might be to avoid posing an interpersonal threat.”
Marie Carter, a central Ohio Weight Watchers ambassador, said people-pleasers need to learn to please themselves as well.
It’s not being selfish to decline politely, she said. Nor is it likely to offend your host.
“We do want to fit in. We want to be part of the crowd,” Carter said. “But your health and well-being needs to be a priority.”
©2012 The Columbus Dispatch (Columbus, Ohio)