What you eat linked to TV viewing habits
- By FederalSoup Staff
- May 09, 2018
People who watch less TV have better eating habits; at least that’s what researchers from University of Oklahoma found in a study.
While previous studies have found that people who watch more television are more likely to be overweight or obese, this is one of the first studies to look at dietary patterns, according to Susan Sisson, an assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma and lead author of the report.
For the study, Sisson and her team looked at federal surveys from that examined the TV viewing habits and diets of 8,222 adults, 3,343 adolescents, 1,749 kids ages 6-11 and 1,423 preschool-age children.
Researchers then used an overall index to measure the survey participant’s diet quality. No specifics were given about the kind of food people were eating, but researchers determined that no matter the age or gender, people who watched no more than one hour of TV a day reported healthier diets than those who watched four hours or more.
For kids, some studies have found that they are more likely to lose weight when they watch less TV, likely because they are not sitting and snacking in front of the TV or being exposed to fast food, Sisson added.
The study was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.