Introduction
Over the festive period you will have seen plenty of warnings about the temptations of eating too much. That festive pub lunch with work colleagues; that cheeky mince pie with your friend after ice-skating, or that indulgent loosening of the belt after Christmas dinner with your family. The idea of social eating is often confused with binge-eating while socialising, with a severe increase in articles offering “helpful” tips on how to avoid overeating with friends and enjoy a low-calorie Christmas.
However, the health benefits of eating with others are too often swept under the rug alongside the pine-needles and cookie crumbs. Eating with others is an important part of many peoples’ lives, whether as daily routine, a way of facilitating socialising, or an integral part of cultural and religious practises. Eating with company goes by several different names, whether social eating, communal eating or commensality. There has been a recent upsurge in research into the ways in which commensality affects mental health. It has been suggested that social eating not only facilitates social bonding, but may also have health and survival benefits.1
What Forms Can Commensality Take?
Frequent family meals are often recommended as a way of positively impacting the physical and psychosocial wellbeing of children, from lowering rates of obesity to being inversely associated with depressive symptoms.2,3 More recent research has also indicated that family meals also affects parents’ wellbeing, improving family functioning, relationships, and mental health.4 Even during COVID-19, mealtimes in the house offered a point of stability for many – whether an opportunity for structure or enjoying company, mealtimes perhaps offered a sense of normality.5
Commensality can also vary between different cultural contexts. For instance, among Ghanaians, the exchange of food is perhaps more meaningful than the routine act of sitting down together to eat; the shared meal is more important than the shared mealtime.
A study of diasporic Ghanaians living in London found that this group maintained social eating patterns that are typical among families in Ghana: cooking for others was frequently done without the expectation of then eating it together, instead oftentimes simply delivering the food to extended family or friends.6 This not only maintains social connections, but also upholds Ghanaian and tribal identities throughout the diaspora through the provision of Ghanaian food. This wider 'commensal circle', as well as cooking and sharing food at large social functions, provides a type of commensality distinct from the Western idea of the family meal in which the family shares both time and space, as well as the provision and effort of preparing the food itself.
What Might Affect Commensality?
Equally, while there are demonstrable benefits to eating with others, a lack of commensality can negatively impact mental health. The Food Standards Agency found that during Covid-19, those impacted by food insecurity were unable to experience these same perks; despite sharing meals, the more perfunctory nature and lack of opportunity for treats on special occasions limited the potential benefits of social eating.7
Further to this, recent research also highlights the problem of social isolation, especially in the light of COVID-19. A 2020 study in Korea demonstrated that there was a significant association between commensality and mental health among adults, with people who ate alone more frequently having poorer states of mental health. This was further affected by other factors, including rural living verses city living and income.8
For older adults, particularly those living alone, eating with others is much less of a routine occurrence. This is significant for both mental and physical health, as this lack of social contact also contributes towards undernutrition among older adults. A social eating programme in Tasmania called 'Eating with Friends' aimed to both provide nutritious food and an opportunity for socialising for older adults. Ongoing participation was driven more by the social elements of the programme than the provision of food, with ‘social relationships & connections’ and a ‘sense of belonging’ being some of the stand out benefits of the programme to the participants.9
The UK charity 'Housing Justice' outlines some of the problems for people experiencing homelessness in accessing commensality in their resource ‘From Street Feeding to Social Eating’, and the ways in which social eating can be beneficial. In providing both nourishment and an opportunity for socialising, commensality can also facilitate access to resources, human connections, and positively impact their sense of self, and mental and emotional health.10
Illness can play a major part in one’s ability to participate in social eating. One example of this is in patients being treated for head and neck cancers; depending on location and stage of the tumour, this may result in a number of challenges when eating, such as loss of teeth, nasal leakage, and reduced tongue mobility.11 Where the physical and functional effects of the treatment alter eating abilities, this also affects ability to eat with others, whether due to altered ability, perceived ability, or confidence in doing so. Despite having the opportunity to experience the togetherness of shared mealtimes, these factors make it less appealing to do so, oftentimes leading to social withdrawal.12
As with all health and wellbeing, it is important to recognise that these factors don’t exist in isolation: older adults living alone experiencing food insecurity are more likely to struggle to access opportunities for social eating than financially comfortable older adults.
How Can This Be Addressed?
Recent research demonstrates how these issues can be addressed using technology. While a child using their phone at the dinner table may be an ongoing argument for some families, there may also be ways to incorporate technology into mealtimes in order to enrich socio-emotional experiences around food.13 These may help diners to keep a balanced diet, transform mealtimes into games, or contribute to and encourage discussion. A range of potential technological tools have also been suggested, from a tablecloth suggesting different food rituals from around the world to try out, to a centrepiece charging station Which causes phones to mimic their owners' behaviours.14
Programmes such as Eating with Friends and charities such as FoodCycle have been running for years as a way of connecting hard to reach communities with food, both in order to ensure adequate nutrition to undernourished groups, and to provide an opportunity to socialise with others.
A study of the role of smartphones in distanced social eating was conducted in rural Japan, with the practice of sharing food migrating successfully onto digital communication, facilitating both exchange of cooking and nutrition knowledge, and social exchanges with one another. Further research in this sphere is continuing now, with the Universities of Nottingham & Adelaide developing virtual experiences that connect consumers with their food with a view to engage those experiencing social isolation.15
How Can TVF Help?
Social isolation, especially with the ongoing isolations caused by COVID-19, is a major factor impacting commensality. While new research and trials work to address connecting people with food or with one another, TVF offers experience with building campaigns that raise awareness of health-related issues and communicating to specific and difficult-to-reach audiences. To learn more about our experience in healthcare communications, please do get in touch!
By Imogen Hooper
