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Avoiding TV while eating is one of the best ways of restricting obesity. However, people more often end up sitting in front of the television, watching their favorite soap and giving in to overeating. Check out the health risks associated with eating in front of the TV and emotional connection between obesity and overeating.

Health experts have been advising to avoid sitting in front of the TV while having dinner or lunch. It is a common knowledge that being a couch potato leads to a lot of diseases and health problems. Even then, people do not take avoiding TV while eating very seriously.

Survey Details On How To Avoid Obesity

According to a 2012 survey involving 13,000 residents of Ohio, eating home-cooked food, along with the family without watching videos or television reduces obesity risk, per Science World Report. The study was led by Rachel Tumin, a population and survey health analyst manager from the Ohio Colleges of Medicine Government Center.

Tumin was supported by Sarah Anderson, an associate professor of epidemiology in the College of Public Health of Ohio State. According to Tumin, it is not about how regularly a person eats family meals but more about what he or she is doing while eating that matters the most. So it means avoiding TV while eating is an important aspect when it comes to gaining or losing weight.

The survey said that those who did not watch videos or TV during meals were 37% less likely to be obese, as opposed to those who watched television or videos. The reports also added that the obesity risk reduced further for people eating home-cooked food and avoiding TV while eating.

Connection Between Emotional Stress And Avoiding TV While Eating

According to KSNT News, emotional eating can happen to anyone at any mood. According to Mary Beth Haney, a registered Dietitian at St. Francis Health Center, people tend to fill their emotional voids with foods.

A surgeon at St. Francis Medical Center, Dr. James. J. Hamilton said that grazing is the biggest form of emotional eating. According to Hamilton, one tends to overload on food when emotionally upset and is sitting in front of the TV.

Hamilton added that by watching a two-hour movie, an emotionally unstable person can pig on for all that time on junk food, which can surely add to health risks. That is why avoiding TV while eating is one of the best ways to restrict obesity and related health problems.