The term “TV dinner” often has a negative health image. It brings to mind processed meals full of salt and additives, eaten on the couch.
But what if you eat something healthier, like a plate of colorful vegetables and whole grains, while watching your favorite show? Could eating it in front of the TV still be harmful?
Some research suggests that eating while watching TV isn’t ideal, no matter what food you’re consuming. Here’s why:
The Impact of Distraction on Memory
Scientists have long known that our surroundings affect our diets, and studies show that watching TV can increase the risk of obesity because it usually means less exercise. But TV might also change how much we eat.
According to Monique Alblas, an assistant professor at the University of Amsterdam, one reason for this could be that we eat more when we’re distracted by TV.
When we’re focused on an exciting show, we might not notice when we’re full, leading us to eat more. Additionally, research suggests that we often forget what we’ve eaten while watching TV and have trouble estimating how much we’ve consumed.
This could result in eating more later. Alblas has also found that people tend to spend more time eating while watching TV.
Impact of Watching TV on Eating Habits
Monique Alblas used data from the Netherlands Institute for Social Research, where people tracked everything they did over a week, including their eating and TV-watching habits, and even the types of TV shows they watched.
When she looked at the data, Alblas found that people spent more time eating when they were watching TV at the same time. On days when people watched TV while eating, they spent a longer total time eating compared to days when they ate without watching TV.
This suggests they might not have realized how much they were eating because they were distracted. The study didn’t measure how much food people actually ate or what types of food they consumed—just the time spent eating.
Since the data was self-reported, it’s possible that people might have misjudged how long they were eating if they were engrossed in a good TV show. However, existing research shows that spending more time eating is often linked to consuming more calories.
“ If you don’t taste food in the same way, you might not be as satisfied, and you’re more likely to snack sooner afterwards – Floor van Meer “
Research shows that eating while distracted, like when watching TV, can lead to eating more food. This happens because we might not enjoy our food as much when we’re not fully focused on it.
Floor van Meer, a data science researcher from Wageningen Food Safety Research in the Netherlands, found that distractions during meals can reduce how satisfying food feels.
Van Meer, who has studied how the brain works during distracted eating, conducted experiments where participants tried to remember either short or long numbers while eating. Those who had to remember longer numbers found their food less sweet, and their brain activity in areas related to taste was lower.
“If you don’t taste your food properly, you might not feel as full and might snack more often,” she explains.
Van Meer also notes that TV can sometimes help get kids to eat their vegetables, especially if they don’t like the taste of them.
There’s a theory that people always try to achieve a certain level of pleasure each day. If something, like a TV show, doesn’t meet our expectations, we might eat more to make up for it.
Our feelings also affect how we eat. Research suggests that we might choose less indulgent foods, like chocolate or buttered popcorn, if we’re watching something that makes us happy, compared to when we’re watching something that makes us sad.
What Do We Eat While Watching TV?
Research shows that seeing food ads can lead people to eat more. What worries researchers most is how these ads are linked to eating ultra-processed foods (UFPs), which are connected to obesity and other health issues like heart disease.
Fernanda Rauber, a researcher at the Centre for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health at the University of São Paulo, Brazil, explains that even a short time watching food ads can make kids more likely to choose those foods.
Repeated exposure makes this preference even stronger. Rauber’s research has found that children tend to eat more UFPs instead of less processed foods when they watch TV.
” The relationship between watching TV and eating is complex, even when it comes to the effects of distraction alone “
Ultra-processed foods are often chosen because they’re easy to eat while watching TV, Rauber explains. Plus, seeing more ads for these foods leads to eating more of them. This effect is stronger for children who are already overweight, possibly because they are more affected by food ads.
Rauber also found that children eat more ultra-processed food when they watch TV during family meals, even though family meals are generally linked to eating more fruits and vegetables.
“In this case, the positive effects of family meals are overshadowed by the negative impact of having the TV on during meals,” Rauber says. This shows that how we eat is influenced by both our habits and our environment, and more research is needed to fully understand these factors.
The Other Side of Distraction
The connection between watching TV and eating is complicated, even just considering distraction alone. Research shows that being distracted can sometimes lead to eating less or not eating at all, says van Meer.
For example, van Meer mentions that some primary schools in the Netherlands have shortened the school day and let students eat lunch while continuing their lessons. They usually make the teaching more passive by reading to the students or showing an educational video.
However, many parents have noticed that their children come home with mostly full lunchboxes, suggesting they were too distracted to eat much.
This effect has also been seen in adults. In one study, participants watched two episodes of the popular TV show “Friends.” One group watched the same episode twice, while the other group watched two different episodes. During the second episode, both groups were given different snacks.
The researchers found that people who watched the same episode of a show twice ate an extra 211 calories compared to those who watched two different episodes.
Dick Stevenson, a professor of psychological sciences at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, thinks this might be because the people watching the same episode were less distracted.
” Our eating behaviours – and what influences them – are complex “
