Blame It on the Autobots: Action Movies Make You Gain Weight

There goes your Doritos-fueled Marvel marathon.

goldie hawn
(Image credit: Getty Images)

It's a random weekday night. You're winding down, watching some stuff blow up/aliens invade Earth, and, oh yeah, there's Chris Evans going to town on a punching bag. But while you're taking in the view, you might also be taking in calories you don't need.

A Cornell University study has found viewers eat more while watching action movies than they do while watching interview shows. Researchers randomly assigned nearly 100 undergraduates to watch 20 minutes of The IslandThe Island sans sound, or Charlie Rose, and not-so-surprisingly, the subjects chowed down the most while slumped in front of a TV broadcasting Scarlett Johansson's escape from dystopia.

Given their associations with chomping on something, the movie theater and your couch are definitely not the optimal places to practice mindful eating. So the takeaway here is this: Stuff your face where you're actually focused enough to think about—and enjoy—what you're consuming.

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Chelsea Peng
Assistant Editor

Chelsea Peng is a writer and editor who was formerly the assistant editor at MarieClaire.com. She's also worked for The Strategist and Refinery29, and is a graduate of Northwestern University. On her tombstone, she would like a GIF of herself that's better than the one that already exists on the Internet and a free fro-yo machine. Besides frozen dairy products, she's into pirates, carbs, Balzac, and snacking so hard she has to go lie down.