You already know your Netflix binges aren't doing your waistline any favors. But as it turns out, the more action-packed your show, the more likely you are to also binge on food, according to a new study published in Internal Medicine.
In the Cornell Food and Brand Lab study, 94 undergraduates snacked on M&Ms, cookies, carrots, and grapes while watching TV. A third of them watched the action movie The Island, a third watched The Charlie Rose Show, and the rest watched The Island, but on mute.
MORE: Can You Really Binge-Watch Netflix and Get a Workout at the Same Time?
After just 20 minutes, the students who watched The Island had eaten almost twice as much (98 percent more!) as those who watched the talk show, and the participants who watched the action movie sans sound still ate 36 percent more than those who got their talk show on. And in the calorie department, the action watchers put away 354 calories (or 314 calories if there was no sound), compared to the talk show watchers' 215.
The action-eating connection: Action flicks are about as distracting as distracting gets—so you don't notice how much food you're mindlessly shoveling into your mouth, says study co-author Brian Wansink, Ph.D., director of the Food and Brand Lab.
MORE: 6 Ways to Stop Mindless Grazing BEFORE It Starts
On the flip side, though, ridiculously boring shows may also promote overeating. (Like you wanted to watch them anyway!) A previous study from Sweden's Uppsala University found that women eat 52 percent more food while watching a "boring" televised art lecture compared to an "engaging" episode of a popular comedy show.
So ditch the action movies, bring on the comedies, and make sure you keep your snacks (or at least the unhealthy ones) out of arm's reach. A previous study in the journal Appetite found that the farther away your food is from your grubby little hands, the less you want to eat it—even if it's popcorn.
MORE: 8 Tips That Make it Easier to Stop Eating When You're Full
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