Sad Movies Can Compel Mindless Snacking
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iStock/Thinkstock(ITHACA, N.Y.) — If you enjoy movies that bring a tear to your eye, you also enjoy eating. Or perhaps, you don’t realize you’re stuffing your face more while watching sad films as opposed to comedies.
In a Cornell Food and Brand Lab study of movies watched over last Thanksgiving, people consumed 28 percent more popcorn while watching the old tearjerker Love Story than the comedy Sweet Home Alabama.
That particular study was conducted in a lab. Researchers also went dumpster diving outside movie theaters in seven cities where they gathered both emptied popcorn boxes and discarded popcorn and again discovered that 55 percent more popcorn was eaten during a sad movie as opposed to the comedy, My Big Fat Greek Wedding.
How does lead researcher Brian Wansink explain this phenomenon? His theory is that eating can be triggered by emotion and people will eat more to compensate for sadness. It doesn’t necessarily have to be junk food either. People will also chow down on veggies and fruits if they’re around.
Therefore, if you are worried about mindless eating, Wansink recommends, “Keep snacks out of arms reach, ideally leave them in the kitchen and only bring to the couch what you intend to eat.”
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