Eating in front of the TV - Slim through small bites

For small bites, no overweight by eating in front of the TV

24/01/2013

Small bites or sips are associated with a faster satiety and can therefore serve to prevent weight problems. Dutch scientists led by Dieuwerke Bolhuis from the University of Wageningen have investigated the extent to which the amount of food consumed differs for small and large bites. They also asked what effect distraction on eating - such as the TV - has on food intake.

From earlier studies it was already known that eating large bites and sips increase food intake overall, write the scientists in the journal „PLoS One“. Also, an increased food intake is observed when people are distracted while eating, for example through the TV. Anyone who breaks the chips and chocolate bar on the sofa watching the favorite series in the evenings has emptied it quickly without even registering which calorie amounts have just been fed to the body. The inclusion of only small bites could counteract the threat of weight problems, according to the Dutch researchers.

Effects of swallow size on the amount consumed
To investigate the effect of bite or swallow size on food intake, Wageningen University researchers offered 53 healthy volunteers a tomato soup, either in small slices (five grams per sip, 60 grams per minute), in large slips (15 gram per sip, 60 grams per minute) or in self-determined swallow size (any amount consumed per minute) consumed. The test was both focused and distracted by a TV, Bolhuis and colleagues report. The distraction of a film, according to the researchers led to an overall increase in food intake, but there were significant differences between the amounts consumed at the different swallow sizes.

Small bites keep you slim
Even in the distracted state, the amount consumed until the onset of satiety in the small slips was about 30 percent lower than in the large slips and the self-determined swallow size, report the Dutch researchers. The subjects were saturated much faster with small sips and stopped eating. In order to avoid excessive weight gain by eating or nibbling in front of the TV, it should therefore be taken as possible to eat in small bites. A „Reduction in the amount of swallow or bite can successfully reduce food intake even when distracted“, so the conclusion of the scientists. In the opinion of the researchers, the food industry could also make a contribution here and reduce the size of ready-made snacks and snacks in order to counteract the overweight. In addition, people who are struggling with weight problems anyway should always be aware of the fact that both large bites and distraction tend to increase food intake. (Fp)

Also read about nutrition:
Vegetarian diet makes you slim
First competence center for nutrition opened
Unhealthy diet damages the brain
Nutrition Report: Less overweight children
Agriculture and nutrition as a subject?

Picture credits: Simone Hainz