Fear of Offending Others May Prompt Unhealthy Food Choices Around the Holidays

For those who have ever opted for a slice of pie so as not to offend those doing the same, it may not come as a surprise that peer pressure and the fear of seeming judgmental may influence food choices around the holidays.

Researchers from Duke University's Fuqua School of Business asked participants to choose a snack option of either wheat crackers or chocolate chip cookies for themselves and a person they had just met.

In some of the of the scenarios, the recently introduced woman appeared as her normal size (wearing a size 0-2), while donning a body suit at other times to make it appear as those her weight increased by nearly 65 pounds.

Sixty percent of participants chose the same snack for themselves and the woman when she appeared overweight -- a number that dropped to 30 percent when the woman appeared her normal size.

What the participants chose varied, with no one snack overriding the other depending on the woman's size. However, as the researchers point out, there appeared to be an increased sensitivity to eating something different -- whatever it may be -- when the woman appeared to fall along the lines of a size 16.

And this, they said, could have significant consequences for the holidays.

"What the results show is that people pick the same snack to avoid offending someone they perceive as overweight," marketing professor Gavan Fitzsimons said. "This means that people might pick unhealthier options for themselves and others during the holidays if they think not doing so could hurt someone's feelings."

This theory was validated via additional studies in which participants told researchers they thought it would be offensive to give an overweight person a healthier snack choice, while selecting an unhealthier option for themselves, and vice versa.

According to marketing doctoral student Peggy Liu, "This suggests that if you are heading back to the buffet to cut a piece of pumpkin pie for your overweight uncle, you might also cut a larger piece than normal for yourself, so you don't hurt his feelings."