A Study Shows That You Eat Way More When Watching Action Movies

By Rishi Iyengar Sep. 02, 2014

A lmost twice as much as when you're watching a talk show, in fact

It’s not watching what you eat, it’s what you watch when you eat if a study released Monday is to be believed.

CBS News reports that the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Internal Medicine, found that the amount of food people consumed while viewing television was determined by the type of content they were exposed to — people watching an action flick ate almost twice as much as people watching a talk show.

The researchers randomly divided 94 undergraduate students into three groups, each of which was put in front of a TV for 20 minutes. One group was made to watch a part of the Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson thriller The Island, while the second watched the same portion of the same film on mute. The final group watched a 20-minute clip of the interview program Charlie Rose.

All three sets of participants were given M&Ms and cookies, as well as healthier snacks like carrots and grapes, to enjoy while watching TV. Researchers weighed the snacks before viewing, and how much was left afterward.

While the people watching the interview show ate 104.3 g of food, CBS says, those who watched the clip of The Island consumed a total of 206.5 g — nearly twice the amount. Watching The Island on mute did diminish appetites, but at 142.1 g the amount consumed was still 36% more than that of the Charlie Rose group. The total calorie intake of both groups watching the action clip was also higher, at 354 calories with sound and 314 without, compared with just 215 calories for the third group.

Study author Aner Tal, a postdoctoral research associate at Cornell’s Food and Brand Lab, said that stimulating, fast-paced programs with a lot of camera cuts drew viewers in and distracted them from what they were eating. “They can make you eat more because you’re paying less attention to how much you are putting in your mouth,” Tal said.

The researchers suggested measures like bringing predetermined, finite quantities of food to the TV to avoid overeating, while the study’s co-author Brian Wansink, professor and director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab, offered a silver lining.

“Action-movie watchers also eat more healthy foods, if that’s what’s in front of them,” he said, suggesting that this could be turned to a viewer’s advantage.

Taken from: http://time.com/health/

America’s Teens Outscore Adults On Stress

By Alice Park Feb. 11, 2014

The source is age-old problems like what they should do after high school

S ince 2007, the American Psychological Association (APA) has conducted a survey of different aspects of stress in America. This year’s analysis focused on teens, and on a 10-point scale, adolescents ranked their stress at 5.8, compared with a score of 5.1 reported by adults.

Even more disturbing, says Norman Anderson, CEO and executive vice president of the APA, is the fact that most teens knew their stress levels weren’t healthy – they said 3.9 was probably more desirable – but did little about it. In fact, the survey revealed that 42% of teens aren’t doing enough to manage their stress.

That’s concerning, since unaddressed stress can lead to both short-term mental-health issues such as depression, as well as lay the seeds for chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure in adulthood.

What’s causing teens to feel so anxious? Eighty three percent cited school as a source of stress, including concerns about their future after high school and worries about college. For some, family financial issues also caused anxiety, which wasn’t surprising since previous studies found that parental stress can trickle down to children, even at very young ages.

“This population is underserved, and not taken seriously sometimes,” said Katherine Nordal, of the APA. “We wanted to shine light on some of the problems we know teens are having and whether they are successful at coping with them or not.”

Clearly, said Anderson, “We have work to do to manage stress overall. Stress levels among Americans continue to be high, but coping mechanisms remain ineffective.” Teens reported doing everything that they probably shouldn’t in order to relieve stress – they aren’t getting enough sleep, which can add to anxious feelings, and they’s less physically active. Exercise is among the best ways to reduce stress, but the survey found that teens were beginning to rely on sedentary activities, such as surfing the internet, engaging in social media or watching videos, to relieve stress.

Taken from: http://time.com/6477/americas-teens-outscore-adults-on-stress/