Overview
- Researchers tracked 41 U.S. students for four weeks, logging 3,168 eating occasions via a mobile app.
- Calorie consumption rose in groups of two or more and in formal settings such as dining halls or restaurants.
- Intake was lower when participants ate alone or at home, pointing to contextual effects on eating behavior.
- Surveys conflicted with logged intake, with males consuming more in social settings and females underreporting in formal dining; mood, stress, and BMI also influenced eating.
- The peer-reviewed study by Y. Alicia Hong with Larry Cheskin, Hong Xue, and Jo-Vivian Yu was published in mHealth on Oct. 29–30 and was funded by George Mason University’s College of Public Health Pilot Grant.