OBC Food Rules Day 59: Try not to eat alone

Americans are increasingly eating in solitude.  Although there is some research to suggest that light eaters will eat more when they done with others (perhaps because they spend more time at the table), for people prone to overeating, communal meals tend to limit consumption, if only because we're less likely to stuff ourselves when others are watching.  We also tend to eat more slowly, since there's usually more going on at the table than ingestion.  This is precisely why so much food marketing is designed to encourage us to eat in front of the TV or in the car: When we eat alone, we eat more.  But regulating appetite is only part of the story: The shared meal elevates eat from a biological process of fueling the body to a ritual of family and community.