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The Fat Suit Study: When Skinny Companions Lead Us to Eat Healthier
Author(s) -
Shimizu Mitsuru,
Smith Laura Elizabeth,
Wansink Brian
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.24.1_supplement.936.8
Subject(s) - junk food , environmental health , food science , medicine , psychology , advertising , obesity , business , biology , endocrinology
Does what an eating companion eat determine what you eat? They answer may depend on their size. After watching a female confederate eater in an inflatable fat suit serve herself very large amounts of either a healthy (salad) or less healthy (pasta) food, 83 college undergraduates were given the opportunity to serve and eat lunch from the same buffet. When the confederate was wearing the fat suit (versus when she was not), participants ate less healthy food regardless of what and how much the woman served (F (1, 72) = 13.47, p < .001). When she was thin (not wearing the fat suit), participants were more likely to eat healthier food when she did so than when she did not (F (1, 72) = 3.92, p = .05).