TV viewing during lunch affects preschool childre...( both the TV days and the non-TV days: ...),Health

To measure the children's eating habits at home, their mothers were asked how frequently the child eats snacks while watching TV, how frequently the child eats other meals while watching TV and how frequently the TV is on when meals are eaten together as a family. The mothers also reported on their child's daily TV watching. According to these reports, on average, the children watched 1.5 hours of TV daily and eight of the 24 children (33 percent) usually ate meals or snacks while watching TV.

The results showed that, overall, the children ate significantly less snack and lunch on the TV days compared with the non-TV days. However, children who watched more daily hours of TV or who usually ate in front of the TV at home ate more lunch on the TV days.

The researchers write, "This finding suggests the possibility that children who are given opportunities to eat while watching TV may become less sensitive to internal cues to satiety."

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Contact: Barbara Hale
bah@psu.edu
814-865-9481
Penn State
3-Apr-2006