Eat Too Much While Watching TV? Try Taking Smaller Bites

Ever find yourself wolfing down snacks as you’re watching your favorite sitcom? Studies have shown that people eat more when distracted by TV or other pastimes.

A new study finds, however, that there may be a simple way to slow down food intake in these situations: take smaller bites.

In the Dutch study, participants were given a meal of soup to consume as they watched a 15-minute animated film. Two groups ate pre-measured volumes of either small or large sips, while another group was free to take whatever size of sips they wanted.

All the participants could eat as much as they wanted and were later asked to estimate how much they had eaten.

In all three groups, the distraction of watching the film led to a general increase in the amount of soup consumed. The people who ate the pre-specified small sips of soup, however, consumed about 30 percent less than those in the other groups.

The other two groups — who took bigger sips — also tended to think they ate much less of the soup than they actually had consumed, said researchers led by Dieuwerke Bolhuis and colleagues from Wageningen University.

Read the Full Article at http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20130123/eat-too-much-while-watching-tv-try-taking-smaller-bites?ecd=wnl_day_012513&ctr=wnl-day-012513_hdln_4&mb=

Source:  Wednesday, January 23 for HealthDay News at http://www.webmd.com/diet/news/20130123/eat-too-much-while-watching-tv-try-taking-smaller-bites?ecd=wnl_day_012513&ctr=wnl-day-012513_hdln_4&mb=