Survey links TV, eating, and childhood obesity
In homes across North America, TV is far more than background noise at dinner: it’s front and center. A recently concluded survey suggests that for kids, watching TV during dinner may be contributing to a hefty problem.
Fork in one hand, and TV remote control in the other, Claire Bassett’s children are TV diners nearly every night of the week. More often than not, they eat their evening meals settled in front of the family room television set.
“Particularly if my husband is working late and I’m trying to fix something for them and then something for us, none of us really has time to sit and have conversation,” explains Claire Bassett. “So that is almost something that keeps them company and gives them something to do while they’re eating dinner, instead of having us to talk to.”
A working mother whose kids are ages 15 and 8, Bassett says by the time she arrives home, the main evening meal has often begun: “I may come home and find them eating a whole box of cookies or a bag of chips sitting in front of the television.”
Times have changed from “Ozzie and Harriet” days when families ate dinners together. Bassett says that with today’s youths pursuing half a dozen sports and activities at a time, accommodations need to be made. “Because of Nintendo and VCRs and all kinds of cable channels, the kids a lot of times would just as soon sit and watch something as sit and have dinner with us and have us say, ‘Well, what happened at school today?’ and they say nothing.”
Researchers from Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas asked nearly 300 students enrolled in grades 4 to 6 about their dinner habits.
Normal weight kids say they watch TV during dinner around two and a half times a week. Overweight kids, on the other hand, say they eat half their dinners staring at the tube (an average of 3.5 times per week).
“If you’re eating meals in front of the TV, are you also spending a lot of other time in front of the TV that could be used in activity?” asks Karen Cullen, Dr.P.H., R.D., L.D., a behavioral nutritionist at Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine. “We’re not sure if that is related here. TV time competes with time for other activities.”
In addition, TV programming may be influencing what foods kids select. “If you think about what’s on television, you’re often encouraged to eat foods that aren’t as healthy or supply more calories,” Cullen says.
With nearly 1 in 4 American kids overweight, researchers are struggling for answers. Genetics, family and social influences, activity levels, and food choices all play a role in weight control, for young and old.
Researchers say TV dining causes what is called “sleep eating.” TV viewers, distracted by the action on-screen, fail to notice they’re full, and continue eating, consuming more food than is needed.
Further research will help narrow down the cause of weight gain in the eating-while-watching-TV paradigm. “We will use that to help develop programs that specifically encourage not watching TV while you eat.”
It’s already been documented that family members who eat at a dining table away from TV enjoy better nutrition. “When children recorded they ate with their families, they oftentimes had more fruit and vegetables, less soft drinks, more low-fat practices,” reports Cullen. “Families spend a lot of time in the car after school in the early evening and oftentimes a very easy meal point is the drive-through, picking meals up, or eating them in the car.”
The study authors say that it is the responsibility of parents to set healthy examples in the foods they choose, the meals they prepare, and the spot they designate as the dining area. Says Cullen, “If you’re concerned about your weight and your children’s weight but you’re not eating healthfully, making wise selections, or getting exercise, your kids aren’t going to either.”
Bassett teaches her kids balance when eating. “The kids are real good about making healthy choices for what they eat for lunch and breakfast, and we try and always have some healthy foods around here for them to snack on.”
When schedules allow, the Bassett family of four share a meal without Homer Simpson, just in the company of one another. “At least one night a week, on the weekend, we do sit down and have family dinner actually around the table, without television on,” she says.
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