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While a dinner date is always a reason for excitement, it might not feel as great after reading this report.

Scientists say that if your dinner date is not conscious about counting calories and does not choose healthily from the restaurant menu, it could leave you with fewer options to stick to a healthy diet.

A team of psychologists from the University of Birmingham conducted the current study in order to understand the influence of a person's choice of food on the other eating partner.

Through the study, they wanted to comprehend if the behavior of the people around us determined our own choice of healthy or unhealthy eating, with low- or high-calorie food options.

For the study, participants were asked to choose their food from a lunch which contained both high-calorie food items like cocktail sausages and crisps, as well as low-calorie options like vegetable sticks.

The participants were asked to make their selection while a member of the research team accompanied them. The research team member chose either predominantly high-calorie for or low-calorie options, while the researchers studied how the company of the research team member and his selections affected the participant's choice of food.

The researchers found that the choice of food made by an accompanying person can influence the food choices of an eating partner. For example, a person was observed as avoiding vegetable sticks if his/her partner didn't choose them.

"We wanted to find out whether food choices are affected by an eating companion. Our research suggests that eating with other people can affect our intentions to eat healthily.  We would advise people to be aware of what those around them are choosing to eat, and to make sure they stick to their intentions to eat a healthy diet," Dr. Eric Robinson from the University of Birmingham's School of Psychology, who led the study, was quoted as saying by Medical Xpress.

"This research underlines the social nature of eating and how this influences our behavior," Dr. Suzanne Higgs, reader in Psychobiology of Appetite at the University of Birmingham, said.

The study was published in the British Journal of Nutrition.