Professor Dame Sally Davies warns Brits “mindlessly” scoff too many calories when chowing down in front of the telly – fuelling the nation’s obesity epidemic.
England’s chief medical officer said as well as keeping off needless pounds, social interaction over the dinner table helps boost kids’ brain power.
Currently, one in three kids leaves primary school overweight or obese.
Being too tubby raises risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.
Speaking at an event organised by think tank Reform, Dame Sally said: “We would like people to sit down and eat together.
“If you look at child development, they need to interact with their families.
The real problem is we have too many families who cannot cook. So the easiest thing is to buy takeaways or ready meals and sit around the television and eat
“Proper mealtimes with healthy food are going to help our children develop effectively and probably help our waistlines.
“When people are using screens or watching the television their calorie intake goes up, because you don’t concentrate on the food, the social interaction is fairly mindless and the feeling of satiation is not recognised as easily.”
Last month, Dame Sally declared herself "chief nanny" as she outlined radical plans to tackle obesity – including a levy on chocs and crisps.
Research by University College London has previously found girls who have TVs in their bedrooms are a third more likely to be fat.
Another study found teens exposed to daily junk food adverts were twice as likely to be lardy.
A nation of grab and go eaters
Hugo Fry, UK managing director of pharma giant Sanofi, said Brits eat badly.
Speaking at the event in London, he said: “One of the reasons that drive the UK up the obesity charts is the way we eat, and the environment we do it in.
“So we are massive TV eaters, grab and go eaters.
“At the other end of the chart, the French they sit down as a family at every single meal.”
Research by Sanofi shows more than four in five Brits say they have a responsibility to stay healthy and cut the burden on GPs and hospitals.
However, only one in four was walling to get the over-40s NHS Health Check.
Many families don't even own a table
Campaigners last night backed Dame Sally’s latest nanny state intervention.
Tam Fry, from the National Obesity Forum, said large numbers of families do not even own a table.
He said: “Prof Dame Sally Davies is absolutely right. The real problem is we have too many families who cannot cook. So the easiest thing is to buy takeaways or ready meals and sit around the television and eat.
“Families should make an effort to have the TV off around meal time and have a conversation while eating.”
Dr Max Davie, from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said: “There is some evidence to suggest watching screens can distract children from feeling full.
“We know children are often exposed to adverts for unhealthy food and drink whilst watching their favourite TV shows.”
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