What does someone who eats abstractly in front of the TV lose?

Maria Cutopoli

05/29/2024 07:58:52

One of them is the pleasure left to us from the days of lockdown and the pandemic: enjoying fast food in front of the TV, watching a series or a movie – perhaps carelessly. But have you ever wondered how this habit affects your feeling of well-being, aside from weight?

According to researchers from the American Psychological Association, when We eat so abstractly, it is much easier to end up eating more food, On the contrary. More specifically, the study looked at how distraction affects people “Consumption of pleasure”which describes buying products, using them, and engaging in experiences that make you feel good rather than because you really need them.

“Enjoying one or more of these activities that provide illusory pleasure is an everyday occurrence. However, people often consume more pleasurable goods than they want or are comfortable with.”reports lead author Dr. Stephen Lee Murphy, Ph.D., of Ghent University.

In the study published in Journal of Personality and Social PsychologyThe researchers conducted an experiment in which 122 participants—mostly young women between the ages of 18 and 24—reported how long they waited to enjoy their meal before eating it. They were then asked to eat their lunch under one of three conditions: no distraction, moderate distraction (watching a video), and high distraction (playing Tetris). After eating, in addition to the amount consumed, participants reported their actual enjoyment, satisfaction, and desire for more pleasure. They also reported whether they also ate a snack later in the day.

As it turned out, these They ate without concentrating In the meal they mentioned Less satisfaction and enjoyment This event was associated with more post-meal snacking and a greater desire for more satiation. The research team believes that this phenomenon, which they call “pleasure compensation,” applies to things other than food. For example, people who watch a movie or play a game are more likely to check social media or watch a YouTube video to compensate for the lack of enjoyment of the original activity.

In addition, the researchers followed 220 participants between the ages of 18 and 71 for a week to investigate factors other than food. The participants, most of whom were women, completed seven questionnaires daily about their levels of binge eating, distraction, and satisfaction. As the meal experiment showed, when people are distracted while eating, Their enjoyment and satisfaction decreasedwhile Their need for more satisfaction was increasing.

“Overconsumption often results from a lack of self-control.”says Dr. Murphy. “However, our findings suggest that overconsumption can often be driven by the simple human desire to achieve a certain level of enjoyment from an activity. When distraction gets in the way, we are more likely to try to compensate by consuming more.” finish.

Read also:

Mindfulness: Practicing a quiet mind, healthy eating, and a strong heart

Do you snack because you feel bad? Eight ways to deal with it

Night raids on the refrigerator: what syndrome does it hide and how is it treated?