It is a known fact that watching television encourages binge eating disorder (BED). However, it appears that BED could be specially pronounced while watching particular type of shows.
A study has found that people particularly watching a Hollywood action film had eaten double the amount of snacks in comparison to those who were watching an interview or a news program. It was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Internal Medicine.
94 undergraduate students were part of the study and they were divided into three groups to watch 20 minutes of television.
According to the US-based researchers, the group watching action films piled on the pounds.
The team of researchers at the Cornell University had tried to establish that certain genres of television were the worst.
The research authors suggested that people must avoid snacking while watching TV.
Television has been linked to obesity because of advertising of junk-food, distracting people so that they don’t realise how much they are eating and sedentary behaviour.
As part of the study the students were given bowls of grapes, carrots, biscuits and chocolate while watching television.
The researchers then made a comparison as to how much food was eaten during the show based on one-to-one interviews and the 2005 action film, The Island, an action flick starring Scarlett Johansson and Ewan McGregor.
The researchers then demonstrated that the students had almost double the amount of food by weight and had eaten about 65% more calories while watching the film.
The difference in eating was more evident in male participants than female participants.
The authors of that study said television could lead the distracted viewers toward eating mindlessly beyond a point at which people may usually stop.
They concluded that when watching highly distracting television content, it is best to avoid eating snacks.
The study author Aner Tal, who is a post-doctoral research associate at Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab, said if a person was watching an action film while eating snacks the person’s mouth will surprisingly see more action.
What is it in action a film that pushes viewers toward binge eating?
Tal said that stimulating programs that are fast paced that include several camera cuts draw the viewers in and distract them from what they are eating.
The researchers also said such programs will make the viewer eat more because the viewer will be paying less attention on the amount of food that they are putting in their mouth.
The researchers also said there are measures that one can take to avoid binge eating while watching a favorite action shot. They also said that pre-portioning or pre-plating television snacks is a better idea than taking out a whole new box of cookies or bag of chips.
Co-author of the study, Brian Wansink, who is a professor and director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, suggested that TV viewers should stay with healthy snacks like carrots.
Wansnik further said that the exciting news is that action film watchers also consume more healthy foods, if that is what is kept in front of them.
