Television and Obesity

How things have changed!!!

Studies have repeatedly found that there is a positive correlation between watching television and obesity.

The Nurses’ Health Study (Hu et al, 2003), for example, looked at 50,000 women, ages 30-55, to see if there was a relationship between prolonged TV watching and obesity. The study found strong evidence that television viewing and obesity were definitely linked, concluding that women had a 23% increased chance of obesity for every additional 2 hours of television time they watched.

The association between TV viewing and body weight is not observed only in adults; the relationship is actually more evident in children. Bener’s 2010 study, titled “Obesity and low vision as a result of excessive Internet use and television viewing”, points out that school students who spend prolonged hours in front of television tend to be overweight or obese.

Common reasons of weight gain while watching TV:

1. Eating Junk Food (Commercials Promote Unhealthy Eating) 

If you see an advertisement on television for food, chances are it’s not going to be promoting eating spinach. Typically, within one hour of television watching you will be exposed to approximately at least 10 food and beverage commercials!!! 

When we are constantly bombarded with images of food that aren’t good for us but oh-so-tasty, we begin to crave those foods. Those cravings turn into snacking in front of the television or going out to buy the advertised food, which means consuming calories you don’t need.

2. Eating More – Watching TV Increases Your Energy Intake 

There is a reason why we have the propensity to eat more while we are watching television. TV has a way of distracting us, especially when we’re really absorbed in a good program. When we are munching and watching TV at the same time, we do not necessarily pay attention to what we are doing; overeating is common. Eating when you’re not hungry is common. 

Some people will eat out of habit, simply because they always eat while watching TV.

3. We Spend Less Energy – Being a TV Couch Potato Doesn’t Burn Calories 

Watching television increases inactivity and lowers your metabolic rate. 

People who tend to watch a lot of TV every day usually don’t squeeze in the time to exercise.

But even if you can manage to juggle your TV time with exercise, the fact remains that people tend to eat in front of the TV, and it’s that kind of unhealthy snacking that packs on the calories, and consequently contributes to weight gain.

4. You Consume More Food at Subsequent Meals 

Television viewing is associated with an increase in eating during meals that follow. One study specifically found that television watching during lunch time increases afternoon snack intake. This increases the overall daily calorie intake, which, when combined with the lower metabolic rate that results from watching TV, leads to weight gain.(usually attributed to the distractibility caused by TV).

Further Reading:

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1.	William H. Dietz Jr SLG. [Online]. Available from: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/75/5/807.short.
2.	Manasi A. Tirodkar AJ. [Online]. [cited 2012. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1447760/.
3.	WH D. Television, Obesity, and Eating Disorders. .
4.	Sarah Harvey O’Brien RHECR. [Online]. [cited 2012. Available from: http://www.pediatricsdigest.mobi/content/114/2/e154.short.
5.	Robert C. Klesges MLSLMK. [Online]. [cited 2012. Available from: http://www.pediatricsdigest.mobi/content/91/2/281.short.
6.	Robinson TN. [Online]. [cited 2012. Available from: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=192031.
7.	Robert W Jeffery aSAF. [Online]. Available from: http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pdf/10.2105/AJPH.88.2.277.
8.	Frank B. Hu MP, Tricia Y. Li M, Graham A. Colditz MD, Walter C. Willett MD, JoAnn E. Manson MD. [Online]. [cited 2012. Available from: http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=196345.
9.	Hernández B GSCGPKLNPCS. [Online]. [cited 2012. Available from: http://ukpmc.ac.uk/abstract/MED/10490786/reload=0;jsessionid=isOKWZ259GU0XYjmSR7T.4.
10.	Thomas N. Robinson LDHDMWJDKHCKCHCBT. [Online]. [cited 2012. Available from: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/91/2/273.short.

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