Don’t Compute While You Eat If You Want To Snack Less

Not eating while you’re doing other things is pretty standard advice when you’re trying to lose weight or modify your diet, but it’s not just folk wisdom. A study by Bristol University confirms that eating at the screen doesn’t leave you satisfied and might lead you to snack later.

Picture by Rob Pearce

In the study, one group ate a lunch consisting of nine items while playing Solitaire; the other control group ate the same lunch but with no distractions. Those who played the game while they ate were more likely to snack subsequently, and also had more difficulty recalling what they had eaten.

That reinforces the idea that concentrating on what you eat makes you appreciate it more, a key strategy when you’re trying to lose weight, or even just eat on a budget. (The study’s not brand-new, since it was announced in December last year, but I’ve only just become aware of it and it’s always good to have empirical evidence to back up any behaviour change.)

Bristol University