Modern youth are abandoning the kitchen table and deserting the TV – meal time is spent socializing with a thousand good friends on facebook
Did you eat your meals round the kitchen table as a child ? Or was dinner eaten deftly balancing the plate on your lap whilst the TV beamed the latest drama, comedy or thriller at you ?
My mother was old school – she expected us to pull it together as a family, for the short time it took to devour the meal so mindless eating was not an option growing up.
Today the kitchen table looks different
Researchers from Rochester Institute of Technology, discovered that the students on their campus have abandoned the kitchen table and the TV is also eating alone most nights.
They’ve shifted eating from a focused activity practised for the pure pleasure of savouring good food and good company, to a continous grazing.
Mindless munching serves as a way of keeping us appropriately fuelled, whilst surfing the net via smart phone or computer. Never-the-less, the mindless grazers aren’t eating alone. Family and live friends, have been replaced by meals with the facebook gang.
In the time it takes to chomp down a hamburger, they may have chatted with a friend in Paris, done a little research for the upcoming assignment, “liked’ a new song and………..knocked a few minutes off their life expectancy.
Status update – gaining pounds
Okay, the study wasn’t able to quantify the effect of a facebook dinner on longevity. But, there is lots of evidence that suggests grazing mindlessly leads to eating more, not less.
More in, ultimately means the weight formula has tipped towards a hefa lump status update, which eventually catches up with you, via a diagnosis of a lifestyle disease.
Friend management may be the ticket to weight management
If you’re watching your weight – don’t forget to include friend management in your overall strategy.
Unplug yourself, from the world wide web, long enough to enjoy the age old delight of a proper meal – savour the food, enjoy the company of a few good friends and / or family members.
Click the like button on your own health.
Eat unplugged. And keep your avatar sleek and sexy.
Further reading
Stop counting steps and start counting bites
Snacking happens whilst we’re doing something else, so it often escapes our consciousness. Bite counting is a way to beat mindless eating and weight gain.
Chips ahoy – the science of dodging run away chip consumption
You planned to eat a few chips from the packet but you end up eating the whole packet – a few red chips are all that’s needed to avoid a chip pig out
Autopilot eating turns movie viewing into monster jamboree
When you think about a trip to the cinema, do you think popcorn and a movie, or just think movie ? Many brains expect both, but it really is just a habit.
