Social Support: It Soothes the Soul, Manages Weight
Research highlights the health benefits of dining with others
Do you ever eat alone while working at your computer? Have you had the experience of heating up a favorite frozen meal in the microwave, then dining solo while watching TV? Or while driving, is dashboard dining between errands typical for you? Eating alone is a way of life with which many of us are all too familiar. It is so common, in fact, that the French coined the term “vagabond eating” (manager n’porte de quand) to describe our often isolated, mindless munching. Americans are paying a big price for their secluded eating, for what cookbook author Marion Cunningham describes as “a motel life,” meaning going in, going out, then grabbing something to eat alone. “When you eat this way, you don’t create deep connections,” says Cunningham, “and you miss the opportunity to get to know about the people you’re living with when you don’t sit around the table and share yourself around food.”
What We Pay for Eating Alone
Solo dining brings more than disconnection: it encourages obesity. These findings are in line with a study about social nourishment and the weight of children by Harvard researchers published in Archives of Family Medicine.
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HerWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
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