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study has found, as being distracted means you don't notice how much
you've eaten
People eat twice as many calories while watching fast-paced action
films like Ewan McGregor in The Island than a TV talk show, a study
has found.
It is well known that watching a lot of television encourages a
generally sedentary lifestyle which can lead to weight gain but one of
the first studies to look at eating habits during viewing has found
that the type of programme has an effect on what people eat.
A team at Cornell University in America found that volunteers watching
The Island ate twice as many calories as those watching a talk-show.
It is thought that the distracting effect of being engrossed in the
film meant viewers paid less attention to their snacks.
The researchers found that it did not matter what the viewers were
eating. If given carrots and grapes during the film, they ate more of
those than during the talk show.
So they suggested swapping chocolate and crisp snacks while watching
TV or when at the cinema for healthy alternatives could cut their
overall calorie consumption.
The findings were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Lead author Dr Aner Tal said: "We find that if you're watching an
action movie while snacking your mouth will see more action too.
"In other words, the more distracting the program is the more you will eat."
In the study, 94 university students were given chocolate M&M sweets,
biscuits, carrots and grapes while watching a 20 minute segment of The
Island or a chat show called the Charlie Ross Show, or The Island
without sound.
Co-author Brian Wansink, professor and director of the Cornell Food
and Brand Lab said: "People who were watching The Island ate almost
twice as many snacks – 98 per cent more than those watching the talk
show.
"Even those watching "The Island" without sound ate 36 per cent more.
"The good news is that action movie watchers also eat more healthy
foods, if that's what's in front of them. Take advantage of this."
It was found that those watching The Island consumed 354 calories,
those watching the same segment without sound consumed 314 calories
and those watching the Charlie Ross Show consumed 215 calories.
Dr Tal said: "More stimulating programs that are fast paced, include
many camera cuts, really draw you in and distract you from what you
are eating. They can make you eat more because you're paying less
attention to how much you are putting in your mouth."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/11067714/Watching-action-films-makes-you-eat-more.html
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