10 Ways Your Smartphone Is Making You Fat by 10 Ways Your Smartphone Is Making You Fat1. The Time-Sucker Effect Making time to exercise is hard, especially in today’s fast paced world. It is so easy to accidentally spend that hour you had set aside for a workout scrolling through Twitter. You set your alarm early, but by the time you checked Facebook, Instagram, answered texts and emails, and checked your horoscope for the day, you’re practically late for work! A recent study at Baylor University reports that female college students spend 10-hours daily on their smartphones, while males spend roughly 8-hours.2. The Couch Potato Effect Why go outside and play when you have a world of entertainment at your fingertips? Gone are the days of “be home before the street lamps come on.” A common teenage activity is simply perusing the social media platforms together on the couch. Friends can laugh at vines for hours, or go head to head in Clash of Clans. It’s not that it’s unsocial—this is actually a viable way of spending time with friends, but it’s certainly not active.3. The Distraction Effect So you’ve gotten yourself off the couch and you’re on a machine at the gym. You’ve got your smartphone keeping you pumped up with a great playlist. Next thing you know, you’re getting bombarded with notifications. Someone liked your photo, it’s so-and-so’s birthday, and your friend from college wants to FaceTime. Suddenly, your break between sets is you sitting on the stretching mats, and the only body part getting exercise is your thumbs!4. The Slow-Down Effect Ironically, the device that’s meant to speed up your world is often slowing you down. A study from Gait and Posture says humans walk 33-percent slower when using a smartphone. If you’re relying on a big walk as your exercise for the day, it’s only two thirds as effective as you might think if you’re walking buddy is your smartphone.5. The Profile Photo Effect With today’s technology, first impressions can be edited. You don’t expect to meet someone walking down the streets or at a restaurant, you’ll meet them on your smartphone. You’ll look through Tinder, request them on Facebook, or scroll through their Instagram to get to know them. Gone is the pressure of perfect first impressions.6. The Convenience Effect Thanks to your smartphone, all fast food restaurants within a 20-mile radius are at your fingertips. With apps like CrunchButton, an online meal order app, ordering take-out is even faster. You don’t even have to stop in to pick up or flip through the phone book! We have the ability to order fast food whenever we have our smartphone on us. That’s quite the temptation.7. The Conference Effect The work world has never been more connected. Business people are reaping the benefits of multi-way calling and Skype. You can have a full fledged meeting from the comfort of your couch, which is certainly handy.8. The Blue Light Effect Your smartphone emits a blue light, which Medical Daily confirms disrupts the production of melatonin, which leads to sleep loss. So, even if you’ve managed to put your phone down for the night at a reasonable hour, you’re still suffering from the blue light effect for hours after.9. The Hunch Effect Texting causes us to slump forward naturally with our noses buried in our screens. The hunched shoulders and tucked neck become a habit when we’re constantly focused on our smartphones. Experts at Surgical Technology International say that texting can add up to 50-pounds on your spine! That is a lot of extra weight to walk around with.10. The Fitness App Rage Fitness apps are all the rage. We put our trust behind our screens, take virtual healthy living instructions, and expect to see results. But it in real life, it’s not that easy. First of all, it’s dangerous and ineffective to go through a new workout without supervision. Some apps include videos, but this is nothing compared to working out in a group or with a trainer. Secondly, apps are not equipped to make dietary recommendations when each person is so varied in their body composition and nutrition needs.