Is your phone making you fat?

Many people use their smartphones to track calories, or exercise, but they could also be limiting your ability to reach your goals.

Think of that person in the gym that is always on their phone. Sitting on the equipment. Not doing as much exercise as texting or surfing. That is an obvious way that smartphones interfere with your progress, but what about the not so obvious ways?

New research published in Psychology and Behavior found that people consume about 15% more calories if they are eating while looking at their phones.

Distracted eating is a thing.

Smartphones have become the main distractors at meals (and probably in the gym) and interfere with our ability to remember how much we have eaten.

When researchers divided people into three groups and had each group eat without distractions, with a magazine, and with a smartphone, they found that the smartphone was the most distracting. People eating with a smartphone not only ate 15% more, but they ate higher calorie, fattier foods.

Multitasking may increase your weight

Another study published in Brain Imaging and Behavior linked mindlessly switching between tasks, think multi-tasking, and weight gain.

The researchers found that adults with higher scores on distractability also weighed more than adults who were able to focus on a single task. Leading them to suggest that smartphone behaviour is leading to lower self-control. They then had the participants undergo an MRI brain scan and found that images of fattening foods increased activity in areas of the brain linked to food temptation. Reinforcing the link between multitasking and weight gain.

Distracted exercise

Texting while exercising reduces balance and stability by 45% as shown by a study in Performance Enhancement and Health. Talking on the phone wasn’t quite as bad, only interfering in your ability to balance by 19%, but still enough to cause a serious injury.

More research from Computers in Human Behavior was even more interesting when it comes to the effect your phone has on your workout. They found that texting during a 20-minute workout changed the results dramatically. Those texting only spent 7 minutes at an intensity high enough to provide benefits and 10 minutes in a low-intensity zone. Compared to those working out without a phone who spent 13 minutes at high-intensity and 3 minutes at low-intensity. The remaining minutes were in a moderate zone. The researchers also studied listening to music on a phone. This had no impact on balance, or workout intensity, as long as the playlist doesn’t require adjusting mid-workout.

There are many good reasons to unplug for health benefits and these studies offer more proof that investing in mindful eating and exercise is worth it.

Change your mind, change your health,

Shayla