When family dining protects against sweet food consumption… and when it does not

Marie‐Eve Laporte, Sophie Rieunier and Geraldine Michel

Journal of Consumer Affairs, 2020, vol. 54, issue 2, 628-647

Abstract: The World Health Organization recommends reducing sugar intake in order to improve one's health. In this spirit, the aim of this research is to test the impact that dining as a family has on the consumption of sweet food and to compare the results with the impact of dining alone or with friends, at home or away. Based on a mixed‐method design combining an experiment with a descriptive survey, the results show that family dining at home fosters healthier eating behavior by restricting sweet food consumption, while dining alone or with friends at home leads more consumption of sweet foods. However, this protective effect of family dining does not hold outside the home. This study helps explain the contradictions in the literature regarding how the presence of others influences food intake. It provides guidance to policy and business stakeholders on ways to reduce sugar consumption and to improve consumers' eating behaviors.

Date: 2020
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