According to scientists, cinema-goers ate TWICE as much popcorn and snacks watching romantic comedies and weepy dramas compared with sci-fi and action movies.
A co-author of the research , which was published in JAMA_Internal medical journal, has suggested that the findings come down to ‘emotional eating’ whilst watching sad movies.
Scientist Aner Tal says that watching films such as The Vow and The Notebook can “generate emotional eating” causing them to eat more cinema snacks to “compensate for sadness”.
But don’t worry, this doesn’t mean you have to gee up your love or romantic films!
Professor Brian Wansink from Cornell University says that as long as you have healthy food instead of calorific food in front of you then you can avoid eating more calories than you need.
He noted: “Sad movies also lead people to eat more of any healthy food that’s in front of them.”
He adds: “Keep snacks out of arms reach, ideally leave them in the kitchen and only bring to the couch what you intend to eat. It's easier to become slim by design than slim by willpower.”
So maybe swap those Maltesers for some fresh grapes next time you head to the pictures!