OTTAWA (Reuters) -
Everyone knows what too much television
can do to the mind and what too little exercise can do to the
body, but a Canadian study has now shown that the boob tube can
also lead to an increase in how much we eat.

Studying childhood obesity, University of Toronto
nutritionist Harvey Anderson found that kids who watched TV
while eating lunch took in 228 extra calories than those who
ate without the television on.

“One of Anderson's conclusions is that eating while
watching television overrides our ability to know when to stop
eating,” the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, which
funded the study, said on Tuesday.

“In effect, mindless television watching produces mindless
eating. … Anderson has some immediate advice for parents —
turn the television off during mealtime.”

(Reporting by Randall Palmer; Editing by Frank McGurty)