The hidden link between screen time and eating disorders in children

Rising screen time among children is quietly reshaping more than just their attention spans — it may also be influencing how they eat. Health experts are increasingly warning that phones and tablets at the dining table can disrupt a child’s natural hunger cues and emotional connection with food. Over time, this digital distraction could lay the groundwork for unhealthy eating habits and even eating disorders

According to A 2025 IAP-linked hospital-based study on 771 children found that average screen exposure had risen to 2.6 hours a day, and critically, only 1% of children under two met the recommended limits.

Introducing a phone to a child during mealtimes can indirectly be a factor in the occurrence of eating disorders over a long period of time by interfering with the child’s distraction. A constantly distracted child not only loses contact with the taste of food, but also with the signals sent by his body about hunger and satiety. It could easily happen that the child indulges in mindless eating or even eats more than he should or, on the other hand, he might ignore the natural cues completely. All these behaviours are associated with binge eating disorders.

A phone used to pacify the child also makes the little one depend on outside sources for emotional comfort instead of learning the skill of emotions management, thus creating a link among food, distraction and emotional control. Moreover, kids who are not properly involved with their food might develop an excessive over picky or fear of food and hence might be eliminating certain textures or kinds of food altogether.

Such behaviours unfortunately, lead to the formation of unhealthy eating habits such as restrictive eating, bingeing, or emotional eating. However, the phone during meals habit does not directly lead to eating disorders, it still forms the basis which, to a great extent, makes children more prone to them.

Mindful eating, family interaction, and screen-free food exploration create a wholesome experience for the child that includes learning hunger cues, loving different types of food, and forming a good eating habit that cuts down the chances of getting a disorder in the future. Building a positive relationship with food early lays the foundation for both physical and mental well-being.

(The writer is a Paediatrics and Paediatric Endocrinology, Diabetes, Rainbow Children’s Hospital, Hebbal and Marathahalli)