Many of us eat lunch parked in front of a computer, but that habit might be boosting our appetite for dessert.
Many of us eat lunch parked in front of a computer, but that habit might be boosting our appetite for dessert.
Past research has suggested that people are prone to eat more when they dine in front of a TV instead of at the kitchen table - possibly because they are paying more attention to the screen than to what their stomachs are telling them.
To test the hypothesis that distraction inhibits memory encoding for a meal, which, in turn, increases later food intake, researchers studied 44 American volunteers who were assigned to one of two groups. In one, participants ate a set lunch while playing solitaire on a computer; those in the other group had the same meal with no distractions. Thirty minutes after the meal, both groups took a cookie "taste test," in which they could sample as many of the sweet treats as they wanted. They were also asked to recall all nine items they'd eaten at lunch, and the order in which the foods were served.
On average, it was found, the computer group downed roughly 250 calories' worth of cookies, while their counterparts ate only half as much. In addition, the computer group had more difficulty remembering the order in which their lunchtime fare was served, and typically reported feeling less full after lunch.
The reason could be that the computer users had a fuzzier memory of their lunch and felt less full afterward compared with the computer-free lunch group. This suggests that distractions like computers and TV muddy our memories of mealtime, which in turn may have real effects on appetite.
The findings suggest - though do not prove - that effects on memory might account for the greater cookie craving in the computer group. Memory for recent meals influences the amount of food that we select and then consume at a subsequent meal and when our memory is poor then at a subsequent meal we tend to select and consume a greater amount of food.
The findings of this study, conducted under controlled laboratory conditions may not hold true in the real world - where many factors could affect what and how much we eat.
Past research has suggested that people are prone to eat more when they dine in front of a TV instead of at the kitchen table - possibly because they are paying more attention to the screen than to what their stomachs are telling them.
To test the hypothesis that distraction inhibits memory encoding for a meal, which, in turn, increases later food intake, researchers studied 44 American volunteers who were assigned to one of two groups. In one, participants ate a set lunch while playing solitaire on a computer; those in the other group had the same meal with no distractions. Thirty minutes after the meal, both groups took a cookie "taste test," in which they could sample as many of the sweet treats as they wanted. They were also asked to recall all nine items they'd eaten at lunch, and the order in which the foods were served.
On average, it was found, the computer group downed roughly 250 calories' worth of cookies, while their counterparts ate only half as much. In addition, the computer group had more difficulty remembering the order in which their lunchtime fare was served, and typically reported feeling less full after lunch.
The reason could be that the computer users had a fuzzier memory of their lunch and felt less full afterward compared with the computer-free lunch group. This suggests that distractions like computers and TV muddy our memories of mealtime, which in turn may have real effects on appetite.
The findings suggest - though do not prove - that effects on memory might account for the greater cookie craving in the computer group. Memory for recent meals influences the amount of food that we select and then consume at a subsequent meal and when our memory is poor then at a subsequent meal we tend to select and consume a greater amount of food.
The findings of this study, conducted under controlled laboratory conditions may not hold true in the real world - where many factors could affect what and how much we eat.
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