The Impact of Social Environments on Food Intake

Eating By Saher Selod

Recent research indicates that one's social environment plays an important role in the amount of food we eat. Although a number of similar studies have confirmed this relationship, few have studied them in institutional settings as this one which was conducted in a rehabilitation unit of a geriatric residence in Canada.

This new research focused on the specific elements of a social environment that resulted in an increase in food intake by older adults who had been hospitalized. Additionally, the study looks at the nature of the relationship between elderly patients and the type of social interaction that occurs when eating food.

The researchers found that certain types of social interactions helped explain the amount of intake. For example, when eating autonomously, social interactions at meal time had no relation to food intake. However, during social encounters exhibiting communal behavior—characterized by behaviors promoting intimacy and companionship in social interactions—food intake increased.

The study acknowledges that it is limited in its ability to provide a richer understanding of the role of social environment in the amount of food older adults consume. However, the research does demonstrate that there is a positive relationship between meal fellowship and food amounts.

More research in this area is needed to benefit those working in institutional settings that aid older adults. Such knowledge could help staff at nursing homes, long-term care communities, and rehabilitative centers improve the dining environment to make it more conducive to increasing the food intake of their residents and patients who struggle with their nutrition. Changing furniture and adjusting mealtime schedules to facilitate communal dining may be one of a few ways to achieve this goal.

This research reinforces the lesson that social interaction and situations should not be overlooked as factors in attempts to improve nutritional intake among older adults.

Source: Paquet, C., St.-Arnaud-McKenzie, D., Ma, Z., Kergoat, M., Ferland, G., and Dube, L. (2008). More Than Just not Being Alone: The Number, Nature, and Complementarity of Meal-Time Social Interactions Influence Food Intake in Hospitalized Elderly Patients. The Gerontologist. 48(5): 603-611.

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