EATING ON THE GO DOES LEAD TO WEIGHT GAIN

Eating while walking may distract the brain, so it does not remember eating and have a strong desire for more.

Eating on the go triggers a desire for consuming food later in the day.

A recent study has shown that eating on the go could mean eating more calories later.

Researchers from Surrey University found that eating while walking could offer to overeat, compared to eating during other forms of distraction such as watching TV or talking to a friend.

They did an experiment on three groups of 20 women who ate a cereal bar while walking along the corridor, watching TV and chatting with a friend.

After the experiment, these women were asked to complete a questionnaire and taste four different bowls of snacks, including chocolate, carrots, grapes and crackers. How much they ate was evaluated after they left the room.

The result stated that those who ate the most later if they had eaten the cereal bar while walking, specifically they ate five times more chocolate.

“Eating on the go triggers a desire for consuming food later in the day,” said lead author Professor Jane Ogden.

“Walking may trigger more distraction which disrupts the ability of manage the impact of eating on our hunger. Or walking, even just around the corridor, can be considered as a form of exercise which justifies overeating later as a reward.”

This doesn’t mean that those eating in front of the television or at the desks are off the hook. Any kind of mindless eating can result in weight gain because we cannot recognize the amount of consumed foods.

The results were published in the Journal of Health Psychology.