As part of re-developing a healthy relationship with food I’ve really begun to appreciate the importance of sitting down at a table for a meal. Even when dining alone it focuses your mind on what you’re eating, meaning you appreciate the meal, the tastes and pay attention to your body’s hunger signals and personal tastes. If eating in company then it provides the perfect environment to maintaining healthy relationships; whilst it might be tempting to sprawl on the couch with your parter and your supper, it does tend you mean you ignore each other in favour of what’s on the TV screen.
I’m not alone in this either, recent research commissioned by furniture retailer Furniture Village shows that one in three people chose the dining table as their favourite spot to enjoy a meal, with 70% adding it had a positive impact on family relations, and 28% stating it improved their mental health (I’m 100 percent with that 28%).
Photo by Sara Dubler on Unsplash
Whilst preference for eating at a table might be strong, this doesn’t manage to translate itself in to reality. Out of 2,000 UK residents surveyed, the research showed that 52% ditched the table, and daily conversation in favour of the TV, and 42% opted to spend time on their phones whilst eating rather connecting directly with those around them.
This kind of makes me sad. I feel like food, and family time should be top priority- as kids we always ate as a family, and whilst I went through various phases of wanting to eat away from the table (mostly isolated away from anyone and distracted by a screen or loud music) I’ve always come back to the classic table chair set up, and Bob and I make a point of never eating slouched on the couch except in rare circumstances (Westworld finale included).
It’s not just relationships with those around us that suffer with TV dinners, nutritionist Samantha Paget stated: “Food choices may be negatively impacted by eating away from the dining table – with the temptation to grab something that’s easier to eat, which doesn’t often contain a wide variety of fresh nutrients.”
With good nutrition being my primary focus these days this does make me very aware that I need to pull my socks up when it comes to week day lunching. I am one of the 36% who eat at their desk every day- and whilst I do go out for twenty minute walk on my break this does mean I’m mindlessly munching my sushi or sandwich whilst focusing on something else. Lunch is the one meal I never put effort in to and I make choices based on how quick they are to eat, and how portable they are, rather than nutritional content or taste.
Whilst I don’t think my habits are too bad, compared to the statistics from the study that also show that 12% of adults never eat at the table, and that 41% see eating purely as a functional task.
The survey of more than 2,000 UK adults was commissioned by furniture retailer Furniture Village in a campaign to encourage people to reclaim their dining table and enjoy the all the positive impacts it can have on our physical and mental health, from a reduction in over-eating and heightened enjoyment of food to better family relationships. To see all the tips, visit the webpage. It makes for interesting reading and highlighted for me what I’m doing well and where I could stand to improve.
What are your eating habits like, and how do you compare to this study?
Also, any tasty, healthy lunch ideas to share? I need some serious inspiration after years of using as an excuse to skip a meal, or fill up on tasteless junk.
