Fat Influences
Comments (26) According to the article “Lose the Weight: Are Your Friends a Fat Influence?” in the January issue of Women’s Health, our friends’ health decisions have a huge effect on us. So huge that the World Health Organization has listed them as a determinant of health, having as big of an influence as genetics and income level.
When I read that, I thought “Ha ha! That doesn’t affect me!”*
But then I started thinking outside of the realm of the article – about how my eating changes when I am around family. Then it hit – holy crap… their habits do affect me. When I see someone eating more, I feel like I should eat more too. When I see someone with a full plate, I feel like my plate should be full. It’s just an automatic response for me.
The article says that:
Consciously or unconsciously, people look to others when deciding what and how much to eat, and how much weight is too much.
Part of the reason we’re so easily swayed may be hardwired. Gregory Berns, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of psychiatry and economics at Emory University, found that when others influence us, the area of our brain that makes conscious decisions is not activated. Instead, the occipital lobe, where vision originates, lights up. Translation: We focus on what we see other people doing (like biting into a cupcake), not what we know is right for ourselves (biting into an apple).
So, our brains are working against us. I can believe that. I know that I often feel like I need to eat, when I am really just “fake hungry” and looking to fill some other void with food.
And unfortunately, I could relate to this:
In some cases, we may even seek out relationships that allow us to indulge, says Susan Bowerman, R.D., of UCLA’s Center for Human Nutrition. “Many women have ‘food friends’ they can call up to say, ‘I had a lousy day and some fried mozzarella sticks sure would make me feel better.'”
I had a “food friend” in college. I could pig out around her and not feel bad. Unfortunately, it didn’t have to be after a “lousy” day. It was often a weekly date!
Of course, the article mentions that this influence can be beneficial as well – your friends’ good habits can rub off on you. And in the end, it is your responsibility to make your own decisions about food, no matter how hard that is.
Ugh. It is hard. But it’s important to learn how to live in the real world and not some imaginary safe place in your head. As private as we want our food consumption to be, it really isn’t in our society.
What do you think about the article? Do you feel like your friends/family influence the way you eat? What are your tips for dealing with “fat influences**”?
*Mostly because I don’t have many friends to hang out with!
**Their term, not mine.
Themocracy