A study has determined that people who watch action movies they tend to eat twice the amount of snacks, popcorn and other treats, than those who watch a television interview.
It's no secret that it's been known for some time that watching TV causes us to munch on foods that fatten us. But the new study also reveals that the different TV programs have different effects on our subconscious eating habits while we're watching TV.
The study, which was recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Internal Medicine, included 94 students with a bachelor's degree, who were divided in 3 groups and watched 20-minute-long TV programs.
The 1st group watched part of the movie "The Island", starring the actress Scarlett Johansson. The 2nd group watched the same movie, but with no sound, while the 3rd group watched an interview from the Charlie Rose show.
The results made it evident that those people who watched the action movie with sound ate on average 7.5 oz (206.5 g) of food, which was about twice that of those who watched the interview - 3.5 oz (104.3 g). Interestingly, those who watched the film on mute ate 5 oz (142.1 g), which was 36% more than the talkshow viewers.
The 1st group took in 354 calories, the 2nd - 314, and the 3rd - just 215.
The programs that are more stimulating, with more motion and the changing of camera focus, really do take our minds off of what we're eating. They lead us to eat more because we pay less attention to what and how much we put in our mouths - announced researchers.
Experts advise that if you like snacking on something in front of the TV, prepare some healthy foods, such as slices of carrots or apples for example. If you simply must eat chips or biscuits, don't take the whole bag or box with you while you're watching TV, only 1/3 of it.
But what's most recommended is not to eat anything in front of the TV, and instead watch movies with your family and loved ones, discussing the movies with them.
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