Our Environment's Unacknowledged Influence

We all let social cues from the people we eat with inform our own portion size. A recent study at the University of British Columbia, however, shows that even the body type of the other person eating has an effect on our choices. Study participants were asked to serve themselves some M&Ms before settling down to watch a video. A researcher posing as another participant took M&Ms first; though the amount taken by this confederate was always the same, the confederate was sometimes a size zero and sometimes a size sixteen. The results:

• 2.05 ounces of candy were taken by subjects when the nearby eater was obese.
• 2.62 ounces of candy were taken by subjects when the nearby eater was thin.

Build a stronger business by being aware of your environment.