These data, combined with those from other studies, support recommendations to reduce television watching and restrict eating while watching television as part of a healthy lifestyle," University at Buffalo Dr. Jennifer L. Temple concludes.
Temple and her team looked at how television affected ‘habituation to food cues‘.Simply stated it means that when a person consumes food repeatedly, he will eventually lose interest in it and his stomach will signal that it is full. ‘Non- food stimuli‘ or watching television can disrupt this process. Children are distracted when they watch television and do not know when their hunger is satisfied.
Given that kids tend to eat high-calorie foods when watching television, snacks in front of the tube have the potential to "profoundly" affect how many calories children consume, even if the time they spend snacking is short, the researchers note.