Avoid eating 'on the go' to keep obesity at bay

Foodies, you may want to avoid snacking while walking as a new study claims that eating 'on the go' can lead to weight gain.

University of Surrey researchers have found that eating while walking around triggered more overeating compared to eating during other forms of distraction such as watching TV or having a conversation with a friend.

In the study, researchers examined 60 females who were either dieters or non-dieters and gave them all a cereal bar to eat under three different conditions.

The results showed that dieters ate more snacks at the taste test if they had eaten the initial cereal bar whilst walking around and specifically they ate five times more chocolate.

Lead author Jane Ogden said that eating on the go might make dieters overeat later on in the day.

She said that when people do not fully concentrate on their meals and the process of taking in food, they fall into a trap of mindless eating where they do not track or recognise the food that has just been consumed.

The study is published in the Journal of Health Psychology.