Watching TV while eating can make you fat--study

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Birmingham, suggests that eating formal meals at the table rather than grabbing food in front of TV could help dieters to cut down on unhealthy snacking.

Previous studies have linked TV to obesity not just because it’s a sedentary activity. Possibly, when we eat in front of a TV or computer, our brains get distracted and ignore signals from the stomach of fullness.

Study details
In order to investigate whether eating lunch mindfully, in contrast to eating with distractions or no particular focus, reduced later snack intake, the researchers conducted a study.

They asked participants to eat a sandwich and crisps for lunch followed by biscuits later in the afternoon.

Participants were divided into three groups. The first group was asked to think about flavor, texture, and smell of the food as they ate while the other group was given an article to read while eating food.

The third group was left to eat their food without any tasks.

Eating in front of TV leads to snacking
Participants of the group who were asked to read while eating and those who were not given any task consumed two and a half more biscuits on average than those who were asked to focus on taste of their lunch.

Also, later appetite was found to be lower in participants who had eaten their lunch mindfully.

Lead researcher Dr Suzanne Higgs, a psychologist at the University of Birmingham, said concentrating on the flavor and texture of food while eating is apparently the best way to decrease snacking.

“Our findings suggest that avoiding distraction like watching television or eating on the go is a good idea.

“We think it is linked to memory and the way it influences our food intake. When we are making decisions about what we are going to eat, we are unconsciously factoring in information from our memories about what our last meal was.

"If you interrupt that process by being distracted then you will see effects on the amount consumed. The reason why people ate more later after watching television was because it impaired the encoding of that meal into their memory.

"We have studied amnesic patients who cannot remember what they have just eaten. If we bring them more food then they will keep on eating."