Why do you want to eat while watching TV. Scientists have found out why you can not eat in front of the TV. Creation of virtual reality

The University of Minnesota conducted a study to find out how dangerous and/or harmful it is to eat in front of the TV. Particular attention was paid to how this process affects the health of the family and the atmosphere that reigns in it.

It turned out that if you eat in front of the TV, then the risk of health problems, incl. and mental, seriously increases.

Who took part in the study?

The study involved 120 American families, one of whose members was necessarily a child aged 6 to 12 years. The scientists asked them to film 2 family meals and discuss whether they liked the meals they ate.

It turned out that 43% of families (almost half) sit in front of the TV during meals. And only 31% of families turn off the "box" before a family dinner.

Having received this data, the researchers studied the health of all participants in the experiment. It turned out that representatives of those families who watch TV during lunch and dinner have a worse feeling than representatives of families who communicate and share news and experiences with each other at meals, as well as discuss pressing problems.

What are the main reasons

There are two reasons for this state of affairs:

• When a person eating food is distracted by a blue screen, they are less aware of what they put in their mouths. Because of this, he overeats and eats more unhealthy foods.
• Dining table conversations act as healing therapy. Family members share their thoughts and experiences with each other, which positively affects their mental health.

Therefore, scientists recommend that all families turn off their TVs during family lunches and dinners, and communicate more with each other. After all, it is not only useful, but also pleasant, and also has a positive effect on the relationship between parents and children.

Many people enjoy eating in front of the TV. However, American scientists have found that this seemingly harmless habit can lead to obesity. /website/

Scientists from the University of Illinois conducted a study in which 60 families took part voluntarily. Video recording was used to assess the impact of food distraction.

Half of the test participants ate while the sound of a vacuum cleaner was running in the next room for 15 minutes. The other half ate in silence. It turned out that those who dined with noise ate more sweets and drank more drinks than those who ate without extraneous sounds.

It also turned out that the participants in the first group paid less attention to their children at the table. This led to the fact that the children also could not stop in time and continued to eat even after saturation.

This experiment suggests that the noise of the vacuum cleaner was a distraction while eating. The same principle applies to watching TV. A person who is fascinated by the plot cannot stop. He eats quickly, chewing food poorly. At the same time, he may not even feel the taste of food.

Focusing on food can help you avoid overeating.

With a leisurely meal, a person feels full after 10 minutes. And the one who eats in front of the TV does not concentrate on the feeling of fullness, so he continues to eat and eat. Adding fuel to the fire is mouth-watering advertising, which can make you want to eat an extra piece, even if a person is not hungry.

An even worse role is played by watching negative programs, such as crime chronicles, action films or scandalous TV shows. In this case, food will charge a person with negative energy. It has been scientifically proven that food eaten in a bad psychological state will not benefit a person.

Psychologists advise the whole family to fight the habit of eating in front of the TV. During dinner, you can simply not turn it on, but talk to each other. In addition, experts recommend not to teach children to watch TV. It is best to wait until the child is very hungry. Then he will eat quickly and without any TV.

One of the bad habits of mankind can be safely attributed to eating in front of the TV. According to statistics, about 95% of all people in the world prefer to eat while watching their favorite TV shows and series. These include both adults and children. Family dinners taking place over lively conversations are extremely rare today. The modern family dinner is a joint meal that takes place in silence, while the attention of all family members is directed to the TV screen.

Because there is usually not enough time to watch it, then the best time for this is the process of eating food or cooking it. Therefore, the TV is often an essential item in the kitchen, thanks to which cooking becomes less boring.

Why is it bad to eat in front of the TV?

It has long been a habitual thing for us to have a morning portion of news at breakfast. Note that as soon as you enter the kitchen or living room after waking up, your hand reaches for the remote control itself in order to wake up your informant by pressing the button. We listen to the news and wake up, something is happening in the world and it occupies us. Here it is the world as it is, right in front of me in this screen.

And everything would be fine if not for all those negative aspects that remain undisclosed for us, but which are actually the causes of many problems in our lives, from overeating to raising a person with a loser scenario.

But first things first. Have you ever noticed how food disappears from your plate while watching TV? They must have noticed. What is the reason for this phenomenon and what does it threaten? Let's figure it out.

What do you think regulates the process of digestion? That's right, the brain. What does the brain do when it looks at the TV screen? That's right - regulates the process of perception of information. And what does the brain do when we do these two things at once? Focuses on the more interesting process for him. And it's usually not a meal. And what does our body do when the brain does not pay due attention to it? That's right, he suffers.

• First of all, our digestive system suffers, due to a violation of the process of chewing and digestion.
• Due to the fact that the brain is distracted by something interesting for it, it cannot simultaneously control the feeling of fullness in the body, so we need more food in order to feel full. The feeling of fullness, which usually comes 20 minutes after eating, is delayed by another 10 minutes due to watching TV. A person simply does not hear the signals given by his stomach, which broadcasts to him “That's it, I'm full, stop!” and continues to eat, not even noticing that there is no longer a feeling of hunger.
• The food we eat in front of the TV screen is not always complete. Often we like to have a snack while watching a movie or a show with nuts, chips, popcorn, pizza, sandwiches and other fast and not the most healthy food. Even if we have eaten beforehand, the previously developed habit of eating something in front of the TV is triggered.
• Thanks to commercials of various chips, chocolates or sodas, in between the film, we run to the kitchen for something to eat.
• TV, like food, often becomes a means of dealing with stress. Watching TV programs helps to cope with psychological discomfort and loneliness.
• We must not forget about the information component. What information do we receive? Murders, crime news, scandalous talk shows - all this makes up about 90% of all television. What kind of food can you cook while watching all this? But even if the food was cooked without the intervention of unhealthy energy, it is difficult to digest it in a depressed state, which the body experiences when watching these programs, so it does not bring any benefit to a person.

The result of this approach to food is excess weight. Thanks to the TV, the number of calories we consume daily increases by 20-30%. Due to the fact that watching TV while eating food often becomes a common pastime, we experience problems with excess weight and difficulty in digestion, sleep problems, and heaviness in the morning.

Solution

To wean yourself from any bad habit, you need to make maximum strong-willed efforts and follow certain rules. Do not be afraid, in the future, freedom from the TV and the realization that you no longer depend on it will bring you great satisfaction and joy.

• When dining with your family, try not to turn on the TV. Instead, it is better to start a conversation in which everyone sitting at the table would participate.
• Go to bed earlier, do not sit up in front of the TV. In the morning you will feel much more sleepy and rested. The fact is that when watching TV, we are oversaturated with emotions. Therefore, it only seems to us that we are resting. As a result of this glut, we feel tired and lethargic in the body.
• Do not try to feed the child by attracting his attention with cartoons. He may eat more, but it won't do him any good. In addition, you will teach him to constantly combine eating and watching TV.
• Make a decision for yourself to eat only at the table and at certain times.
• If you refuse to eat in front of the TV beyond your strength, replace your usual food with less calories. Fruits and berries will be a good substitute for chips and nuts, drink green tea instead of carbonated drinks. Snack on vegetable salad, diet foods, a light sandwich, low-calorie ice cream, and more.
• When scheduling your diet, do not forget to include foods that you eat in front of the TV. Determine in advance for yourself what kind of products and their quantity.
• Don't forget about physical activity. While watching TV, you can do gymnastics instead of eating.

Eating while watching a movie is a favorite pastime for every family. Unfortunately, such leisure has a lot of negative consequences. Consider why it is better to dine in the dining room without a TV and a laptop.

Why is it better to give up gatherings in front of the TV

Cinema causes a surge of emotions that provoke hormones. Those, in turn, provoke the viewer to eat several times more, without even noticing it.

Negative consequences:

Important! Fans of eating high-calorie foods on the couch are at risk for diseases such as diabetes, arterial hypertension.

How to teach your family to eat without a screen

The first steps in problem solving are always the hardest. But by showing minimal willpower, you can achieve magical results, and even create new family traditions.

Important! The main problem of eating in front of a screen is the mechanical consumption of food.

Ways to solve the problem:

Replacement for a bad snack:

• chopped fruit;
• vegetables;
• berries;
• useful sandwiches and blanks.

Important! No TV at the table means more family conversations. This entails the absence of stress, conflicts, a more favorable, trusting "climate" in the family. Everyone needs to speak out, get support, there is no need to take this time from children and spouses.

Breaking an old habit is hard. However, only the first 2-3 weeks will be difficult. After that, the psyche stabilizes and gets used to the new routine.

No TV means less stress, more time for yourself and family. The absence of gatherings on the couch will eliminate the problem of excess weight, make you go outside. There will be time for children and themselves.

Lunch in front of a screen will not bring any benefit or joy, scientists say

A group of specialists representing the University of Minnesota said that families turning on the TV while eating together are making a serious mistake. According to the researchers, for both physical and psychological health and well-being of a person, the TV should be turned off during meals.

Among not the most frightening, but quite significant arguments, scientists cite the fact that food eaten in front of the TV simply brings less pleasure. Surveys conducted by scientists have shown that families whose members looked at the screen while eating, later rated the quality of dinner lower than those who at that time were not distracted by anything other than talking to each other.

Also, scientists advise not to underestimate the role of a joint dinner in itself as a form of communication within the family. In particular, it is during dinner that parents have a chance to unobtrusively ask their children how their day went, and also to show them by example how to eat right.

After conducting a study involving 120 families with children aged 6 to 12 years, scientists came to the conclusion that people who eat with the TV off are more likely to eat right. By not being distracted by TV, they were less likely to overeat, thereby avoiding excess weight. In addition, such people ate more slowly, which, according to scientists, is also good for health. Finally, although it is rather difficult to connect these facts directly, people who did not turn on the TV during dinner were more likely to eat healthy food than fast food.

Scientists draw attention to the fact that many of the patterns they identified were observed even if members of a particular family turned on the TV “in the background” and did not actively watch it.

Experts shared their findings on the pages of the scientific journal Appetite.