Judging by the way he eats, you’d say you married an underfed man, but a new study claims there is a perfectly valid explanation for his behavior. According to researchers at the Cornell University, men eat more to impress women.

Birds sing, reindeer fight, men… eat heavily to get their partners’ attention. The finding is not at all surprising considering that most eating contests are dominated by men.

The idea of the recent study came to researchers at the Cornell University after they realized that men tend to eat faster around women. Consequently, they have asked 133 adults to take part in their research. Participants had but one thing in common: they have all been recruited in an all-you-can-eat Italian buffet.

The experiment lasted for two weeks during which researchers observed the eating habits of men and women. At the end of the study, they have concluded that men ate 93% more pizza when around women. The same was valid for other dishes, as well because males ate 86% more salad when in the company of a female interlocutor.

We might expect men to eat more slices of pizza, but consuming larger quantities of salads… that is definitely the merit of a woman. This was the conclusion that researchers have reached after comparing men’s results with the ones of women.

Female participants, on the other hand, evinced no significant change in their eating habits when in company of men. They continued to eat in the same manner, regardless if they were accompanied by men or women.

Scientists looked further at the possible explanations behind their new finding. What is it that makes men eat more in front of women? Apparently, it is their need to show off that pushes men to overeat, scientists have explained.

Although overeating is not as dangerous as fighting in wars, new research suggests men are perceived as risk-lovers if they consumer larger intakes of food. This activity proves women and rivals that they have special abilities and they possess more energy than other individuals.

Women did not appear to be very impressed by males’ eating habits, but they did complain that they felt ‘rushed’ when they dined in company of men. The majority of them felt they have eaten too much when they sat next to a man, but surprisingly, researchers found no evidence suggesting they actually did.

Researchers will continue to study the effects of men’s overeating on women and determine whether the latter really chose their partners based on their eating habits. The study was revealed on the journal of Evolutionary Psychological Science.

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