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Overeating to impress: conspicuous food consumption among males (811.15)
Author(s) -
Kniffin Kevin,
Wansink Brian
Publication year - 2014
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.28.1_supplement.811.15
Subject(s) - overeating , sexual selection , context (archaeology) , courtship , mate choice , psychology , competition (biology) , food choice , consumption (sociology) , demography , obesity , biology , ecology , medicine , sociology , paleontology , social science , pathology , mating , endocrinology
To what extent is overeating among men an artifact of women's mate preferences or intrasexual competition? While previous research concerning sexual selection pressures upon eating behaviors has focused on disordered consumption among women, we present three studies that consider the relevance of female mate choice and intrasexual selection for male eating patterns in the context of courtship. Study 1 demonstrates that women rate men who eat significantly more food on dates as significantly less attractive. Study 2 shows that men expect that male competitive eaters will enjoy significantly greater reproductive fitness than comparably successful women. While Studies 1 and 2 directly address female mate choice and intrasexual competition, Study 3 examines sex‐specific patterns of consumption in a naturalistic field setting and finds that men but not women eat significantly more when they are provided relatively large containers of food. Particularly in light of public policy debates about the regulation of container sizes, our findings generate applied value for public health campaigns that are designed to curb overeating and stem longer‐term consequences of obesity.