Do Social Norms Influence Food Choices?

Could obesity be a socially transmitted disease? A review of 15 studies from 11 different publications tackles the question by systematically examining other cultures eating habits and how this influences their food choices.

Based on the 15 studies, eight examined how information regarding food intake norms actually influence what's consumed by those in the area. The other seven looked at the effects of food choice norms on how people decide what food to consume.

Findings show that social norms do indeed play a significant role in what we decide to eat.

"It appears that in some contexts, conforming to informational eating norms may be a way of reinforcing identify to a social group, which is in line with social identity theory," said lead investigator Eric Robinson, Ph.D., of the University of Liverpool, via a press release. "By this social identity account, if a person's sense of self is strongly guided by their identity as a member of their local community and that community is perceived to eat healthily, then that person would be hypothesized to eat healthily in order to maintain a consistent sense of social identity."

Results of the meta-analysis showed that if participants were given information that others were making certain high or low calorie choices, they were more likely to pick similar dietary habits. Data also indicated that the quantity of food eaten was determined by social norms and played a large role in social identity.

"Norms influence behavior by altering the extent to which an individual perceives the behavior in question to be beneficial to them. Human behavior can be guided by a perceived group norm, even when people have little or no motivation to please other people," said Dr. Robinson, via the release. "Given that in some studies the participants did not believe that their behavior was influenced by the informational eating norms, it seems that participants may not have been consciously considering the norm information when making food choices."

However, researchers caution that more research needs to be conducted in order to determine a definite link. Yet they still believe that food consumption and social norms may influence how healthy choices could be made in the future.

"The evidence reviewed here is consistent with the idea that eating behaviors can be transmitted socially," remarks Dr. Robinson, via the release. "Taking these points into consideration, the findings of the present review may have implications for the development of more effective public health campaigns to promote 'healthy eating.' Policies or messages that normalize healthy eating habits or reduce the prevalence of beliefs that lots of people eat unhealthily may have beneficial effects on public health."

What do you think?

More information regarding the study can be found via the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.