Gendered social eating?

I have the fortune of a decent-length car ride to my gym and back at least once a day, and I listen to NPR almost exclusively on these trips - it's the only reason I have any idea what is going on past what my clients, family and friends are doing/feeling. I heard a fascinating study this morning that suggests that people tend to consume more calories when they're eating with women than when they're eating with men. The article is here. I found this super interesting...what, men don't eat more when they're hanging out with their buddies? Apparently not, according to the study, which was pretty informal and only looked at college students. Seems like a narrow base population from which to try to draw larger conclusions, but the article raises some interesting issues about the social significance of food in our culture, not the least of which is that women are conditioned not to eat much in the presence of men. It's just not ladylike, right? And I'm not surprised that women eat more around other women, by and large...there's a whole "I'm out with the girls, let's have a treat" mentality out there for sure!

The larger issue, of course, is that who we eat with is one of the many factors (conscious and unconscious) that govern our choices of what to put in our bodies. Making conscious decisions day in and day out to eat a certain way is very important, but equally (if not more) important is that we seek out and address the unconscious factors. The best intentions can be derailed by a habit that was begun in childhood and which seems so much a part of you that you feel you have no power over it! Take some time to look at these things with the intent to change the dialogue you have with yourself about eating. It's one thing to say, "I've always had a weight problem...it's because my parents gave me too much junk food and now my body craves it." It's another, healthier choice to acknowledge those tendencies (and their origins) but focus on the actions you might be able to take now, as an adult, to help your body adapt to a new normal. Talking to others can help in this process, but a lot of the work is for you alone - too often talk between friends is more about commiserating that about enabling progress!

I'm by no means the expert on nutrition, but both because of my childhood habits and because of my job, healthy eating is something I've thought a lot about, and tried to help my clients (and myself) understand. Keep at it, people - and try not to let who you're eating a meal with determine how you nourish yourself! :)