For those of us who enjoy whipping up something delicious in the kitchen and look to cooking shows for a yummy recipe now and then, we might want to look elsewhere: A new study published in the journal Appetite found that those who watched food-related TV shows and then cooked the recipes showcased had higher body mass indexes, i.e. BMIs, than those who only used recipes from other sources (such as family and friends).
In conducting this study, researchers interviewed 501 women between the ages of 20 and 35 on how they “obtained information on new recipes” and their cooking habits. They found that sourcing recipes from cooking shows “was positively correlated with BMI,” the report stated. Women who watched TV cooking shows and proceeded to make those meals were found to have an average weight of 164 lbs. Conversely, women who watched the shows but didn’t cook the recipes from them weighed an average weight of 153 lbs.
Interestingly, only TV cooking shows had this effect. Getting cooking recipes from print, online, or in-person sources showed no significant influence on BMI,” NPR reported.
Cooking at home, where you control the ingredients, is commonly known to be more nutritious than ordering takeout. However, Everyday Health noted that cooking show recipes are more likely to be higher in calories and fat, and served in larger serving sizes, so it makes sense that those who cook these recipes would end up consuming larger amounts of unhealthy food.
Does knowing that women with a higher BMI make more recipes from cooking TV shows discourage you from using similar recipes yourself? Let us know in the comments.
