There is something that can throw any diet plan off-kilter, sitting in the living room. Yes, it could be the couch, which if sat upon too often can contribute to a sedentary existence. But, according to a new study, the culprit is the television.
Countless people love potato chips, popcorn, nachos, and other snack foods. We know these aren’t conducive to dropping pounds from the bathroom scale, but we allow ourselves to indulge sometimes. Here’s the key: don’t indulge in front of the television set while watching your favorite sitcom or drama.
Researchers, in an unusual study, have found that people eat a whopping 44% more snack food when they are watching TV. It seems this habit of mindless, subconscious eating is worse as the evening rolls on — when potato chips are involved. The study found that people eat 42% more chips while watching Leno, Letterman, O’Brien, and the lot.
The theory behind this overeating lies in distraction. If you want to eat less, pay attention to how each bite tastes. This is proven to make you feel satisfied more quickly, and thus eat less. This study wanted to know if the reverse was true: if you were distracted, would you eat more?
So they used one of society’s best modes of distraction, namely the TV. Researchers took the weight of potato chips and gave them to people who were doing nothing or watching a five-minute monologue by Jay Leno or David Letterman. They enrolled 45 adults, the vast majority of whom like eating chips, and told them that the study was testing chip flavors, not eating habits.
For three weeks participants sat in a room and were given potato chips. Each room showed Letterman, Leno, or had no TV. People watching TV consumed remarkably higher amounts of the salty snack, proving that distraction can ruthlessly add calories to your daily count without you even knowing it.
Researchers said that being distracted while eating — not paying attention to the food on your plate (or in the bowl) — is almost sure to make you consume more. So get the flicker and turn the TV set off during dinner. And avoid snack foods during “CSI” and reruns of “Seinfeld.”
Next Post:
Movement Gene Linked to Obesity Discovered Previous Post:
Weigh Your Risks If Considering Prostate Cancer TreatmentsTags: functional foods
