How you eat doesn’t affect what you eat: a study among French adolescents

Abstract

Background : This correlational study determines if eating behaviors are related to two different mealtime factors: the presence or absence of a screen (whether TV, computer or tablet) and whether alone or accompanied by friends or family. Methods: Participants (N=416) were French adolescents (M age= 16) from a high-school located outside Paris, France. Self-reported diet was assessed with a questionnaire. This was then coded by a nutritionist for number of portions of various foods such as fruit and vegetables, protein, and products with added sugar, fat and salt. For each meal (breakfast, lunch, after-school snack, dinner), they reported whether they had eaten in front of a screen and whether they had eaten either alone, with friends or with family. Findings: MANOVAs conducted for each meal separately indicated that there were no multivariate effects of screen, or meal companions, or the interaction between the two, for all meals (all ps > .05). Discussion : Past research showed that young people consume more unhealthy foods and beverages when eating in front of television. The present study goes against those results. Indeed, this may be explained by how France government decided to ban vending machines in all schools or that TV advertisements for snack foods carry health warnings (like cigarettes). Our study extends our understanding of adolescents mealtime media use beyond television viewing to include cellular phones, computer and tablet.