Watching cookery TV shows like 'Bake Off' can make you a stone heavier

A team of researchers has warned that watching TV shows like 'The Great British Bake Off' can make you put on weight.

The researchers from Cornell University in New York found that viewers see indulgent special treats like rich cakes as "a social norm" and eat them too often, the Daily Express reported.

The said that hosts of TV cooking shows could be seen as authorities on food and since human behaviour is influenced by authority figures, these personalities may impact on viewers' food practices.

They found that those who liked cooking programmes had an average weight of 11.72st, compared to 10.92st for those who did not tune in.

The researchers added that watching chefs prepare indulgent dishes on TV or watching a famous host enjoy over-the-top foods with other people all over the country might suggest a social norm for preparing these types of foods.

They noted that social norms and the modelling of eating behaviour have been shown to impact food intake in many settings and contexts, adding that previous research has shown that food-intake modelling can occur just by watching someone who is not physically present eat, the exact situation that may occur when people watch cooking shows on television.

The study is published in the journal Appetite.