Modeling of palatable food intake in female young adults. Effects of perceived body size

Laboratory taste-test studies have shown that social modeling effects on food intake are powerful. The aim of the present study was to examine the degree to which people model food intake in a more naturalistic eating setting. After completing a cover task, female participants (N = 102) spent a 15-min break with a female confederate who ate a large amount or a small amount of M&Ms or no M&Ms at all. Further, the confederate had a slim or (subtly manipulated) normal-weight appearance. Females who were exposed to a confederate who ate much consumed more than those who were confronted with a confederate who ate only a little or nothing at all. Although the manipulation of the confederate's appearance had no significant main effect on the amount of food that participants consumed, a significant interaction effect was found, such that the modeling effect of eating was present only in the normal-weight appearance condition. Our findings suggest that normal-weight young women are more inclined to imitate the food intake of a female confederate if they are more similar to the confederate.