How many of us are completely focused on our food when we eat?  Modern technology like TVs, computers, cell phones, etc are nearly ubiquitous.  Books, magazines, newspapers are usually always within reach.  Especially if we are alone, it seems almost unnerving to eat in silence.  Do modern distractions affect how much we eat?

A growing body of research points to yes.   As summarized in a new paper by Oldham-Cooper et al., existing research already suggests that watching TV and even listening to music increases food consumption not only during the meal, but at subsequent meals as well.  Other research has found that remembering foods in a meal can reduce intake at the next meal.  So if we are distracted while we eat, it seems we may eat more later than if we are not distracted, because we just don’t as accurately recall how much we eat earlier.

Oldham-Cooper and colleagues extended this observation with a new experiment, using a computer game for distraction: solitaire.  44 subjects either ate lunch (all lunches were the same at ~471.5 kcal) while playing solitaire, or ate without distraction.  Mood, hunger, and fullness were rated after the meals, then subjects immediately memorized a word list for 1 minute.  A half hour later, the subjects took part in a “cookie taste test” where they rated characteristics of 3 kinds of cookie (ad libitum intake of cookies allowed).  Then, they were asked to recall the word list as well as what foods they eat for lunch (there were 9) and what order they consumed them in.

The subjects that played solitaire during lunch ate significantly more cookies than those who did not.  If my math is correct, averaging the calorie content of the cookies results in a higher average intake of ~123 kcal in the subjects who played solitaire (the authors reported intake in grams).  They also were ~1 item worse on recalling the order of the food items that they ate for lunch, and self-rated fullness after lunch as less than those who weren’t distracted.

The authors speculate that distraction interferes with the “ability to correctly attribute visceral sensations to recent eating.”  They cite 3 previous studies that show amnesic and dementia patients do not have normal reductions in hunger after eating even large meals.

Alarming statistics cited by the authors: 25% of children’s total energy intake is consumed while watching TV.  In 1 study in overweight women, this number was closer to 50%.

Can you remember what you ate today?

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Reference

Oldham-Cooper RE, Hardman CA, Nicoll CE, Rogers PJ, & Brunstrom JM (2011). Playing a computer game during lunch affects fullness, memory for lunch, and later snack intake. The American journal of clinical nutrition, 93 (2), 308-13 PMID: 21147857