Study Shows How Watching TV Triggers Excess Eating
By WLC
Pretty much everyone knows that knowing when to push away from the dinner table is an essential part of losing weight. But a July 1 HealthDay News article indicates that knowing when to turn off the TV may be just as important:
Yale University researchers conducted a series of experiments to test the effects of food commercials on television.
One test found that children aged 7 to 11 who watched a half-hour cartoon that included food commercials ate 45 percent more snack food while watching the show than did children who watched the same cartoon with non-food commercials.
That increased amount of snacking would lead to a weight gain of nearly 10 pounds a year, unless it was countered by decreased intake of other foods or increased physical activity, the researchers said.
"This research shows a direct and powerful link between television food advertising and calories consumed by adults and children," the study's lead author, Jennifer Harris, said in a news release.
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