Quickie: The Real Reason Men May Eat Too Much on Dates
They’re hungry, but not for food
You’re sitting across the table from your date and he just scarfed down a whole plate of food and is already looking for seconds before you’ve barely taken your first bite. “Wow, he must be really hungry,” you think.
But is he?
Not necessarily.
According to research in Evolutionary Psychological Science, men may actually overeat in front of women because they believe it will impress them — despite the fact that overeating can impact their physical appearance in ways that can make them less attractive to the very people they’re trying to impress.
“Instead of a feat of strength, it’s a feat of eating.”
During their study, researchers Kevin Kniffin, Brian Wansink, and Ozge Sigirci observed men and women having lunch at an all-you-can-eat Italian buffet and found that when men were eating with at least one woman, they tended to consume 93 percent more pizza than men who were dining with other men.
At first blush, you may think, “Well, maybe the pizza was just really good. After all, who doesn’t love pizza?”
However, researchers found that this tendency also occurred among the men who were eating healthier options. In fact, men who were having lunch with women ate 86 percent more salad than those who were eating with other men.
“People should calm down when eating with members of the opposite sex.”
On the other hand, women who ate with men reported feeling like they overate even when their consumption didn’t support this belief.
“The findings suggest that men tend to overeat to show off. Instead of a feat of strength, it’s a feat of eating,” said Kniffin. “The findings are clear that people should calm down when eating with members of the opposite sex. Men seem to be eating more, and women feel like they overate.”
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Source:
Hayes, M. (2015, November 17). For men, eating to excess might be eating to impress. Cornell University. https://news.cornell.edu/stories/2015/11/men-eating-excess-might-mean-eating-impress
