Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Do Social Activities Substitute for Food in Youth?

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Annals of Behavioral Medicine

Abstract

Background

Behavioral economics offers a framework to understand choice among alternatives. There is no research on the interrelationship between food and social activity in overweight and non-overweight children.

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to test the substitutability of food and social interactions using behavioral economic methods in overweight and non-overweight youth.

Methods

Fifty-four (24 males and 30 females) overweight and non-overweight youth aged 9 to 11 years old were tested using a behavioral choice paradigm which involved participants responding to earn points exchangeable for food and/or social activity.

Results

Youth substituted food for social activities when the cost of social time with an unfamiliar peer increased (p < 0.05) and substituted food for social activities with an unfamiliar peer when the cost of food increased (p < 0.05). However, when interacting with a friend was the alternative, participants did not substitute food for social interactions.

Conclusions

Social interactions can serve as a substitute for food in both lean and overweight youth.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Epstein L, Leddy J. Food reinforcement. Appetite. 2006; 46: 22–25.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Epstein L, Leddy J, Temple J, Faith M. Food reinforcement and eating: A multilevel analysis. Psychol Bull. 2007; 133: 884–906.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Epstein L, Wright S, Paluch R, et al. Relation between food reinforcement and dopamine genotypes and its effect on food intake in smokers. Am J Clin Nutr. 2004; 80: 82–88.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Temple J, Legierski C, Giacomelli A, Salvy S, Epstein L. Overweight children find food more reinforcing and consume more energy than non-overweight children. Am J Clin Nutr. 2008; 87: 1121–1127.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Doell S, Hawkins R. Pleasures and pounds: An exploratory study. Addict Behav. 1982; 7: 65–69.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Jacobs S, Wagner M. Obese and nonobese individuals: Behavioral and personality characteristics. Addict Behav. 1984; 9: 223–226.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Epstein LH, Roemmich JN, Paluch RA, Raynor HA. Influence of changes in sedentary behavior on energy and macronutrient intake in youth. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005; 81: 361–366.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Birch LL, Zimmerman SI, Hind H. The influence of social-affective context on the formation of children's food preferences. Child Dev. 1980; 51: 856–861.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Fisher JO, Birch LL. Restricting access to foods and children's eating. Appetite. 1999; 32: 405–419.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Fisher JO, Birch LL. Restricting access to palatable food affects children's behavioral response, food selection, and intake. Am J Clin Nutr. 1999; 69: 1264–1272.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Lepper MR, Sagotsky G, Dafoe JL, Greene D. Consequences of superfluous social constraints: Effects on young children's social inferences and subsequent intrinsic interest. J Pers Soc Psychol. 1982; 42: 51–65.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Salvy SJ, Jarrin D, Paluch R, Irfan N, Pliner P. Effects of social influence on eating in couples, friends and strangers. Appetite. 2007; 49: 92–99.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Deutsch M, Gerard HB. A study of normative and informational social influences upon individual judgment. J Abnorm Psychology. 1955; 51: 629–636.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Jones EE, Pittman TS. Toward a general theory of strategic self-presentation. In: Suls J, ed. Psychological Perspectives on the Self, vol. 1. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc; 1982: 231–262.

    Google Scholar 

  15. Sunnafrank M. Interpersonal attraction and attitude similarity: A communication-based assessment. In: Anderson JA, Anderson JA, eds. Communication Yearbook/14. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc; 1991: 451–497.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Sunnafrank M, Ramirez A Jr, Metts S. At first sight: Persistent relational effects of get-acquainted conversations. J Soc Pers Relatsh. 2004; 21: 361–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Magnusson D, Stattin H. The person in the environment: Towards a general model for scientific inquiry. In: Lerner RM, ed. Theoretical Models of Human Development. Handbook of Child Psychology, vol. 1. Hoboken: Wiley; 2006: 400–464.

    Google Scholar 

  18. Fordham K, Stevenson-Hinde J. Shyness, friendship quality, and adjustment during middle childhood. J Child Psychol Psychiatry Allied Discipl. 1999; 40: 757–768.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Allon N. The stigma of overweight in everyday life. In: Wolman B, ed. Psychological Aspects of Obesity: A Handbook. New York: Van Nostrand Rheinhold; 1982: 130–174.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Janssen I, Craig WM, Boyce WF, Pickett W. Associations between overweight and obesity with bullying behaviors in school-aged children. Pediatrics. 2004; 113: 1187–1194.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  21. Latner JD, Stunkard AJ. Getting worse: The stigmatization of obese children. Obes Res. 2003; 11: 452–456.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Latner J, Stunkard A, Wilson T. Stigmatized students: Age, sex, and ethnicity effects in the stigmatization of obesity. Obes Res. 2005; 13: 1226–1231.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Puhl R, Brownell K. Bias, discrimination, and obesity. Obes Res. 2001; 9: 788–805.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Puhl R, Latner J. Stigma, obesity, and the health of the nation's children. Psychol Bull. 2007; 133: 557–580.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Storch E, Milsom V, DeBraganza N, et al. Peer victimization, psychosocial adjustment, and physical activity in overweight and at-risk-for-overweight youth. J Pediatr Psychol. 2007; 32: 80–89.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Strauss RS, Pollack HA. Social marginalization of overweight children. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2003; 157: 746–752.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Warschburger P. The unhappy obese child. Int J Obes (Lond). 2005; 29(Suppl 2): S127–S129.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Cramer P, Steinwert T. Thin is good, fat is bad: How early does it begin? J Appl Dev Psychol. 1998; 19: 429–451.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. Sigelman C, Miller T, Whitworth L. The early development of stigmatizing reactions to physical differences. J Appl Dev Psychol. 1986; 7: 17–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Faith M, Leone M, Ayers T, Moonseong H, Pietrobelli A. Weight criticism during physical activity, coping skills, and reported physical activity in children. Pediatrics. 2002; 110: e23.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  31. Francis L, Lee Y, Birch L. Parental weight status and girls' television viewing, snacking and body mass indexes. Obes Res. 2003; 11: 143–151.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  32. Timberlake W. Behavior regulation in learned performance: Some confusions and misapprehensions. J Exp Anal Behav. 1984; 41: 355–375.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  33. Timberlake W, Farmer-Dougan VA. Reinforcement in applied settings: Figuring out ahead of time what will work. Psychol Bull. 1991; 110: 379–391.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Stewart SH, Samoluk SB. Effects of short-term food deprivation and chronic dietary restraint on the selective processing of appetitive-related cues. Int J Eat Disord. 1997; 21: 129–135.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Epstein L, Saelens B. Reframing health behavior change with behavioral economics. In: Bickel W, Vuchinich R, eds. Behavioral Economics of Obesity: Food Intake and Energy Expenditure. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates; 2000: 293–311.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Siegel PS, Pilgrim FJ. The effect of monotony on the acceptance of food. Am J Psychol. 1958; 71: 756–759.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. Lowe MR, Butryn ML. Hedonic hunger: A new dimension of appetite? Physiol Behav. 2007; 91: 432–439.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  38. Salvy SJ, Bowker JW, Roemmich JN, et al. Peer influence on children's physical activity: An experience sampling study. J Pediatr Psychol. 2008; 33: 39–49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Salvy SJ, Howard M, Read M, Mele E. The presence of friends increases food intake in youth. Am J Clin Nutr. 2009; 90: 282–287.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  40. Salvy SJ, Kieffer E, Epstein LH. Effects of social context on overweight and normal-weight children's food selection. Eat Behav. 2008; 9: 190–196.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  41. Salvy SJ, Roemmich JN, Bowker JC, et al. Effect of peers and friends on youth physical activity and motivation to be physically active. J Pediatr Psychol. 2009; 34: 217–225.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  42. Salvy SJ, Romero N, Paluch R, Epstein LH. Peer influence on pre-adolescent girls' snack intake: Effects of weight status. Appetite. 2007; 49: 177–182.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Behavioral Medicine, State University of New York at Buffalo, Farber Hall, Room G56, 3435 Main Street, Building #26, Buffalo, NY, 14214-3000, USA

    Sarah-Jeanne Salvy Ph.D., Lauren A. Nitecki B.A. & Leonard H. Epstein Ph.D.

Authors
  1. Sarah-Jeanne Salvy Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Lauren A. Nitecki B.A.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Leonard H. Epstein Ph.D.
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sarah-Jeanne Salvy Ph.D..

Additional information

This work was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grant 1RO1HD057190-01A1 awarded to Dr. Sarah-Jeanne Salvy.

About this article

Cite this article

Salvy, SJ., Nitecki, L.A. & Epstein, L.H. Do Social Activities Substitute for Food in Youth?. ann. behav. med. 38, 205–212 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9145-0

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12160-009-9145-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation