Screens are everywhere! Where? Screens are in our living rooms, at the doctor offices, in schools and on airplanes to name a few. Depending on how much we are exposed to the media we can sometimes be overwhelmed by all of the ads we see and the jingles we hear promoting a certain brand or food. When it comes to eating, it can be the deciding factor on where to eat or buy a certain food at the grocery store. After we hear and see something so many times, our minds start to wonder… maybe I would like that and then, before you know it, you’re eating it. The media has a lot of subliminal power over our buying power! It is so important that we limit our screen time not just for the food commercials that try to “hook us” into buying certain products but to get more activity too. Let’s get less TV and more activity! We tend to eat more when we are eating while watching TV or doing any activity. We tend to mindlessly eat without knowing if we are actually hungry or even what we may be eating. There is a direct correlation between increased hours of watching TV and the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, fast food and overall calorie intake. Research shows almost three out of every four foods advertised fall into the ‘unhealthy’ category and are targeted toward children. So we need to ‘tune out’ so much TV watching and tune into spending more quality time as a family playing outside, playing cards, board games and just being active. And, of course, eat meals as a family and enjoy each other’s company without any technology getting in the way.
Check out: ‘Dining In’ Pizza for Two
