Nutrition

Too much TV spoils the appetite

In Quebec, 25% of boys and 18% of girls, aged 10, eat at least one meal a day while sitting in front of the TV. This is not good news. “Young people don’t eat vegetables when they’re watching TV; they eat chips, chocolate and soft drinks,” explains Marie Marquis, Professor of Nutrition at Université de Montréal, who just completed a study among 534 Montreal pupils.

Added to this is the new North American trend in which children eat in front of their own TVs. “At Christmas or on their birthdays, more and more children are asking for their own bedroom TV. Many households are equipped with three, even four, TVs. And what are people doing in front of the TV? Eating, and eating badly,” says Ms Marquis, a specialist in eating habits.

According to Statistics Canada, francophone children in Quebec watch ans average of 14.9 hours of TV a week. This statistic translates into poor eating habits for boys and girls alike. While sitting in front of the TV, boys prefer to eat foods that are saltier (chips), sweeter (candies, cakes, sweet cereals, soft drinks, fruit beverages), greasier (French fries, poutine) and less rich in fibre than girls who prefer caffeinated products (coffee and tea).

Even though Prof. Marquis was expecting the results she obtained from the study conducted in collaboration with nutritionist Yves Filion and assistant researcher Fannie Dagenais, she was surprised by the scope of the problem among Quebec school children, particularly boys. “If we put aside the television factor, girls are a little more aware of the importance of eating well,” she explains. “Girls tend to choose muffins over pizza, natural cereals over sweeter ones—Cheerios instead of Fruit Loops, for example—and will snack on raw vegetables instead of chips.”

In addition to their poor nutritional choices, boys appear to be more easily influenced according to the study. “When they’re watching TV, boys pay more attention to the appearance of food, which prompts them to ask their parents to buy the foods they see in commercials,” writes Prof. Marquis in an article published in the Canadian Journal of Dietetic Practice and Research (Spring 2005). In other words, boys are eager to eat what they see most often in TV commercials. Companies are well aware of this and use it to expand their influence far beyond the TV screen. “The study shows that TV aside, boys’ eating habits are less healthy than those of girls.” Marie Marquis sums it up with a little advice to parents: “If you want your kids to be healthy, turn off that TV!”