Are you always making sure everyone around you is happy before you worry about yourself? Then, you may be termed a people-pleaser.

This may make you popular among peers. However, a study from Case Western Reserve University, in the US, suggests that it could be the reason you’re reaching for that extra handful of chips.

A study published in the Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology shows that people-pleasers tend to overeat in social settings in an attempt to make the people around them feel comfortable. It suggests that they feel pressure to eat even when they’re not hungry in order to match what people around them are eating.

Julie Exline, lead author of the study, says: ‘People-pleasers feel more intense pressure to eat when they believe their eating will help another person feel more comfortable. Almost everyone has been in a situation where they felt this pressure, but people-pleasers seem especially sensitive to it.’

Just because someone else has an extra helping or your friend offers you a homemade cake it doesn’t mean you have to eat it – unless you really want it.

Words: Dailyfix
Image: Website