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A new study reveals that adults who watch TV during a meal have a higher chance of obesity.
‘Binge Watching’
It gives a bit of a new meaning to the term ‘binge watching’; getting fatter because you prefer to watch your favorite Netflix series while eating.
Researchers from The Ohio State University made three observations:
- Home-cooked meals reduce the chance of obesity
- Eating in front of the TV increases the chance of obesity
- How often you eat with the family has no effect.
They published their findings in the
Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics.
How often you are eating family meals may not be the most important thing. It could be that what you are doing during these meals matters more
Rachel Tumin, Ohio State University
That home-cooked meals offer a healthier alternative is not very surprising. The effect of watching TV, however, is interesting.
They used the data from the Medicaid Assessment Survey, a telephone survey from which they used the data of 12,842 participants. People who ate together with the family at least once a week. Obesity was defined as a BMI higher than 30.
All Decent People
A third of the participants usually watched TV during the communal meal. 36% stated they never did this.
The researchers cannot demonstrate a causal link between watching TV during meals and the chance of obesity. However, the relationship remained strong when accounting for socio-economic status, age, race, marital status, and education level.
The researchers do not provide an explanation for this relationship.
Eating Together Has No Effect on Weight
More than half of the participants said they eat with the family on most days, 35% did this often, and 13% only a few days a week.
Although this frequency seemed to have no effect on the weight of adults, previous research does point to the benefits for the diet that children have later.
Reference
- Rachel Tumin, Sarah E. Anderson. Television, Home-Cooked Meals, and Family Meal Frequency: Associations with Adult Obesity. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2017; DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2017.01.009
