TV Snack Attacks
If your kids usually spend a little more time in front of the TV in the summer, you may want to pay closer attention to the commercials they watch. A new study has found that watching food commercials can lead to increased snacking in children and adults.
In one experiment, researchers found that kids aged 7 to 11 who watched a cartoon interspersed with food commercials snacked 45 percent more than kids who watched the same cartoon with commercials that were not food-related. A similar study in adults also found a link between watching food commercials and increased eating.
If you pre-record programs, you can always skip over the ads. But if your kids get the munchies after watching food commercials on live TV, give them healthy choices such as fresh fruit or veggies with hummus. Better yet, get them outdoors for some fresh air and exercise!
Have you ever noticed that your kids get snack cravings when they watch TV? Have you experienced this yourself? What are your solutions to combat TV commercial munchies?
Comments
I try to have snacks that aren’t so bad around, but it doesn’t always work. We’ve recently started to do a lot of NetFlix watching, as opposed to straight TV with commercials. I’m really liking it and so are my kids.