The presence of friends increases food intake in youth.
BACKGROUND
Friendship may be uniquely relevant and influential to youths' eating behavior.


OBJECTIVE
This study examined how overweight and nonoverweight youths adjust their level of eating as a function of their familiarity with their eating partner.


METHODS
Twenty-three overweight and 42 nonoverweight youths had the opportunity to play and eat with a friend (n = 26) or with an unfamiliar peer (n = 39). The dependent variables of interest were the amount of nutrient-dense and energy-dense foods children consumed and their total energy intake.


RESULTS
Participants eating with a friend ate substantially more than did participants eating with an unfamiliar peer. Furthermore, overweight youth, but not nonoverweight youth, who ate with an overweight partner (friend or unfamiliar peer) consumed more food than did overweight participants who ate with a nonoverweight eating partner. Matching of intake was greater between friends than between unfamiliar peers.


CONCLUSIONS
These results extend previous research by suggesting that the effect of the partners' weight statuses may add to the facilitative effect of familiarity and result in greater energy intake in overweight youth and their friends. Behavioral similarity among overweight youth may increase the difficulty of promoting long-term changes because the youths' social network is likely to reinforce overeating. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00874055.
Salvy
Sarah-Jeanne
SJ
Division of Behavioral Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, The State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo 14214-3000, NY, USA. ssalvy@buffalo.edu
Howard
Marlana
M
Read
Margaret
M
Mele
Erica
E
D000293:Adolescent; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002648:Child; D004435:Eating / Q000523:psychology*; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D010379:Peer Group; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012737:Sex Factors; D012925:Social Conformity; D012931:Social Environment; D013851:Thinness / Q000523:psychology*