Modeling of food intake: a meta-analytic review

Lenny R. Vartanian*, Samantha Spanos, C. Peter Herman, Janet Polivy

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

105 Citations (Scopus)
212 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

This meta-analysis provides a comprehensive quantitative assessment of research on modeling of food intake. Thirty-eight articles met inclusion criteria. Overall, there was a large modeling effect (r = .39) such that participants ate more when their companion ate more, and ate less when their companion ate less. Furthermore, social models appear to have stronger inhibitory effects than augmenting effects. Moderator analyses indicated that there were larger effects for correlational versus experimental studies, and for women versus men. There was no difference in effect sizes for studies using a live versus remote confederate, or for participants who were high or low in concern with eating appropriately. Together, these findings point to modeling as a robust and powerful influence on food intake.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)119-136
Number of pages18
JournalSocial Influence
Volume10
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2015
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Copyright the Author(s) 2015. Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

Keywords

  • modeling
  • food intake
  • social influence
  • meta-analysis

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Modeling of food intake: a meta-analytic review'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this