Excerp from ARCAMAX HEALTH
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Your Health: Tube Time Leads to Mindless Munching
Rallie McAllister, M.D., M.P.H.
If you want to avoid overeating, it’s a good idea to avoid eating while watching television. The distraction provided by an entertaining TV show could prompt you to consume far more food than you would otherwise, according to the findings of a study presented in June at the Endocrine Society’s Annual Meeting in Toronto.
Although previous research demonstrated that people tend to eat more when they’re parked in front of the tube, the reasons for the increased consumption weren’t fully understood. To test whether distraction causes folks to eat more while watching TV, neurologist Alan R. Hirsch, M.D., director of the Smell and Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago, measured potato chip consumption in 45 adults in an unusual study.
Each subject involved in the study was presented with potato chips and instructed to eat as many as desired during a five-minute session. Armed with the chips, the volunteers snacked at will for five minutes while sitting in a room with no television, while watching a Jay Leno monologue, or while watching a David Letterman monologue.
Over the three-week study period, each individual ate potato chips for five minutes under all three conditions: with Leno, with Letterman, and with no television at all. The subjects were not aware of the true purpose of the study: They were instructed only to pay special attention to the smell, taste, and texture of the chips.
"What we found is that the subjects ate 44 percent more chips while watching Letterman and 42 percent more while watching Leno than they did when they sat in a room with no TV," said Hirsch. "So the idea is that if you want to lose weight, you should probably turn off the television while you’re eating."
Television has long been blamed for promoting over-eating and for contributing to overweight and obesity. Channel surfing burns minimal calories, and the more time we spend in front of the TV, the less time we’re likely to devote to physical activity.
In a study published in the American Journal of Public Health, researchers reported that adults who watched television three or more hours daily were significantly more likely to be overweight than those who spent less than an hour a day in front of the tube. Not surprisingly, the results of a recent survey by Integrated Media Measurement, Inc. (IMMI) revealed that a significant percentage of American adults spend at least three hours a day watching television.
Women aged 45 to 54 will spend more than 1,100 hours, or the equivalent of nearly 47 days, watching television, DVDs and movies this year according to the IMMI survey results. Men in the same age group will devote about 40 days to watching various forms of media.
Younger adults tend to spend less time watching television. Among 35- to 44-year-olds, women are expected to accumulate about 38 viewing days in 2007, while their male counterparts are predicted to accumulate 33 days.
In addition to keeping folks couch-bound, television is thought to promote overweight and obesity by exposing viewers to countless advertisements for food. Data from Nielsen Media Research reveal that by the age of 65, the average American will have viewed some two million commercial advertisements, a significant percentage of which are food-related.
Hirsch isn’t completely convinced of the link between television commercials and increased food consumption. His research shows that it is primarily a lack of attention to the taste and smell of food during eating that promotes overeating.
"If you’re distracted by what’s on TV while you’re eating, you don’t notice that your stomach is full, and so you tend to eat more," he said. "The more attention you pay to the taste and smell of your food, on the other hand, the fuller you feel."
Previous research suggests that nearly 66 percent of Americans regularly watch television while eating dinner. Hirsch said the effect of distraction on food consumption isn’t limited to television watching.
"If you eat with other people and you’re distracted by conversation, you tend to eat more than you would if you were eating alone," he noted.
While eating solo may not be the best approach to weight loss, avoiding mindless munching in front of the television is a smart, simple strategy to prevent over-eating.
"If you want to lose weight, you should turn off the television while you’re eating and pay attention to the smell and taste of your food," said Hirsch.
