Using a smart phone at
mealtimes can lead to an expanding waistline
Researchers have found that men and women consumed 15
percent more calories when looking at their phones while eating.
They also ate more fatty food. The groundbreaking study suggests
that staring at a phone screen may distract diners from how much
food they are actually eating.
‘It may prevent the correct understanding of the
brain over the amount of food ingested,’ said researchers who
filmed 62 volunteers eating alone.
The men and women, aged 18 to 28, were invited to help
themselves to a choice of food – ranging from healthy options to
soft drinks and chocolate – until they were satisfied. In three
trials, the volunteers were recorded eating
![UsingaSmartphoneatmealtimescanleadtoanexpandingwaistline]( "UsingaSmartphoneatmealtimescanleadtoanexpandingwaistline")
with no distractions, using a Smartphone or reading a
magazine.
On average, the volunteers ate 535 calories without the
distraction of a Smartphone but 591 when using a
mobile.
Those in the sample who were classed as overweight ate
616 calories while using their phones. When in possession of their
mobiles, the volunteers also consumed 10 percent more fatty foods.
They also ate more when reading a magazine.
‘Smartphone use during a meal increased calorie
and fat intake,’ said Márcio Gilberto Zangeronimoa, a lead author
of the study – carried out at the Federal University of Lavras in
Brazil and University Medical Center Utrecht in the
Netherlands.
He added: ‘Tablets and smart phones have become the
main “distracters” during meals,
even early in childhood, so it is important to pay attention to how
this may impact food choices.
‘A distracter prevents the brain correctly
understanding the amount of food
ingested.’[来源:Zxxk.Com]
The study is published in the journal Physiology And
Behavior.
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