I have always read about how many people feel that a person who eats standing up is more prone to gaining more weight as opposed to those people who eat each meal at the table. What are your thoughts on this? Is this true or a myth?
Not something ive heard of before although i suppose it could fall inline with the fact that when comfortable at a table or chair you would eat more relaxed and slower allowing your body to digest properly and allowing your body to send the right signals telling you that you are full and dont need anymore food, Where as when standing people would tend to be eating in a rush which "could" result eating more than you really needed. Both theory's no doubt would carry some argument. I wouldnt call it a myth as im sure in a round about way it could be true.
I'd love to know the mechanism by which standing CAUSES you to gain more weight. I am sure this is a myth and I would argue standing burns my calories than sitting...
Yeah I would have to say there's no way this can be true. But I do like Admins point about being more relaxed which might make you eat slower/less. I think under weird circumstances this might be true (ish) for a tiny percent of people. Though I doubt it : )
I think this a myth because a lot will encourage people to walk around a little bit after a meal to help aid digestion. Even if you are just standing you are using more muscle then if your sitting and burning more calories.
Now that I think about it I think you are definitely right about it being a myth. I think that it became a myth purely due to the fact that parents maybe wanted their offspring to eat with them at the dinner table so they told their children that they wold gain weight if they didn't (this would be so ironic if it were to be true haha).
I think I read this in diet books from the 70's. It's an old idea. I think it is a myth. The thinking was that slower eating was better at making you get to that "full" feeling and that rushing through meals by standing or watching tv or otherwise being distracted would cause you to eat more. I don't think the theory holds water.
From a physiological standpoint, the theory is false. You would burn more calories standing up. This does not mean the theory does not have some valid points. These theories started when researchers observed eating behaviors and the resulting weight changes. It was not the fact people were sitting or standing as much as what those two positions caused in other behavior and you can probably verify this in your own surroundings. You will notice that people who eat on the go, or "standing", tend to ignore how much food they eat, or what types of food they are eating. They are on a mission. Their minds are distracted by work at hand. They keep eating even when their stomach is full. Their attention is not on the food or the habit of eating, it is on other items. People who stop to have their meals tend to focus on their food and appetite. They stop sooner. They choose better foods. Obviously, these observations have nothing to do with physiological reasons, but have everything to do with psychological reasons. Take a few minutes to look around your own office. A great example is IT Techs who are constantly on the road. They eat walking, driving, at their workbenches, and anywhere they can find a moment. They tend to gain weight due to that behavior. The salespeople they work with often are slimmer and in better shape. They tend to sit down with clients, in the office, or at home for their meals. Their time demands are different and their eating behaviors are different. My only point is this. You can toss out the idea that eating while standing is not as efficient physiologically, but evidence points to it being a horrible idea psychologically.
