Are You Eating Lunch This Very Minute?

Many people eat lunch at their desk, rather than go to the cafeteria or out to a restaurant.  Even at home, some will make a sandwich and take it to their computer.  So is using the computer during meals a bad thing?  Maybe it is, according to a small study from Bristol, UK, researchers that’s published online in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The thrust of the study was to study the effect of distraction while eating on total meal size.  The experimental distraction was playing solitaire (or patience) on a computer while eating a set lunch.  A control group ate the same meal, but without any distractions.  Then 30 minutes after the meal, both groups were offered as many cookies as they wanted.  They were also asked to recall what items they had for lunch, and in which order.

There were 44 volunteers in the study, 22 in each group.  Subjects in the computer group ate an average of 52.1 grams of cookies (about 250 calories), compared with 27.1 grams by control participants.  The computer group had more difficulty in remembering the order in which their 9 lunch items were served; they also reported feeling less full after lunch.  This last finding suggests that effects of the distraction on memory might account for the increased cookie intake in the computer group.

While this relatively small study involved computer-based distraction, the findings might apply equally to TV-viewing.  And maybe they’d be similar after, say, watching TV during dinner . . .

I’m reminded that yoga can lead to ‘mindful eating’, with benefits in overweight people.  Perhaps one can develop this sort of mindfulness without embarking on a yoga program?  A Times of India article suggests it’s possible.