There are many factors that can cause weight gain during the holidays; namely turkey gravy and pumpkin pie. New research suggests political correctness could be grouped in the risk factors right next the Christmas cookies.
The study suggests people may choose the less healthy food options in an effort not to offend others, a Duke University news release reported.
"We wanted to understand if food choices would change if they were picking a dish or snack for themselves and an average-sized person versus themselves and an overweight person," Marketing doctoral student Peggy Liu, who participated in the study, said.
In one part of the study participants were asked to choose between a snack of wheat crackers or chocolate chip cookies for both themselves and a person they had just been introduced to. In some instances the newly-introduced woman appeared to be fit, but in other cases she wore a fat suit to make herself appear heavier.
The researchers found that about 60 percent of the participants would choose the same snack for both themselves and their new acquaintance when they appeared to be overweight, but only 30 percent of the time when she appeared to be thin.
"What the results show is that people pick the same snack to avoid offending someone they perceive as overweight. This means that people might pick unhealthier options for themselves and others during the holidays if they think not doing so could hurt someone's feelings," study leader Gavan Fitzsimons said.
Many of the participants claimed they felt it would be offensive to offer the overweight person healthy food and take the unhealthy choice for themselves, or vice versa.
This suggests that if you are heading back to the buffet to cut a piece of pumpkin pie for your overweight uncle, you might also cut a larger piece than normal for yourself, so you don't hurt his feelings," Liu said.
The team believes this finding may also be relevant in the world of marketing.
"As marketers increasingly recognize that the shopper is often not the consumer of products and we often make product choices for others in our lives, firms need to better factor in a consumers' desire to match consumption within the household to avoid offense," Fitzsimons said.
"Counter to common marketing wisdom, a single product that adequately meets the needs of multiple family members without offending any may dominate individual items that perfectly meet the needs of each family member but raise the risk of offense," "Liu said.
