Researchers with the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston found that Overweight kids ate 50% of their meals in front of the TV, compared with 35% for normal-weight children. They found that kids who ate dinner with their families ate more vegetables, were more likely to eat lower-fat foods, and drank fewer sodas than those who ate dinner alone. The downside of eating while watching TV is that a lot of times you’re not aware of what you are eating, and you eat too much.
http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/health/2001-02-14-kid-diet.htm
Other studies also found that eating in front of the TV lowers kids’ awareness of what they are eating. TV interferes with the natural cues children’s bodies send them about whether they are full, which can lead them to overeat or undereat, depending on variables.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2596580/
Distracted eating can lead kids to eat more, to be less aware of how much they are eating, and to overeat again later in the same day
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