A tradition nearly 2 million years old: why do people enjoy eating together?

Lunches with friends, family dinners, and festive gatherings are essential parts of life for most people. Shared meals possess profound significance and roots. Why do people enjoy coming together for this? BBC explains.

The habit of sharing food dates back to before the emergence of our species. Notably, this practice is observed in chimpanzees and bonobos, our closest primate relatives. However, sharing is not the same as eating together, as sociologist Niklas Neumann from Uppsala University in Sweden pointed out.

"You can distribute food as an object without sitting down and dining with others," he emphasizes, highlighting that humans have added a range of complex social layers to this act.

The first communal meal may have taken place around a fire. It remains impossible to pinpoint when humans or their ancestors first cooked food. Scientists speculate that this could have occurred 1.8 million years ago.

"And once you all sit around the fire, a warm, bright beacon in the darkness, you may find that you don't sleep longer. Those extra hours during the day could have been golden opportunities for social bonding over food," suggests biological anthropologist Robin Dunbar from the University of Oxford in the UK.

Regardless of the specifics of how this tradition originated, researchers link it to greater well-being. A 2017 study found that shared meals correlate with increased life satisfaction and having reliable friends.

"Eating together in a group enhances the effect of endorphins, much like running together. This is because synchronized activity doubles the production of endorphins," the scientist added.

Journalists Cynthia Graber and Nicola Twiley discovered that consuming the same food at the same time leads to greater trust among individuals. For instance, people reached positive outcomes in negotiations faster when they were eating the same snacks.

However, sharing a meal is not a simple act. It can also serve as a means of demonstrating submission and control, as criticism of a person's appearance or decisions during a meal is unlikely to contribute to happiness.

It is worth noting that it has been previously found that fast food is harmful to health. There are several reasons to avoid eating on the go.