Sep 01, 2014 11:45 PM EDT By J Baulkman, UniversityHerald Reporter

Previous studies have found an association between TV viewing and higher food consumption and a more sedentary lifestyle. Now, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association: Internal Medicine points out that not all TV is alike.

Researchers from Cornell University in New York found that action movies might lead people to eat twice as much as other programs.

"We find that if you're watching an action movie while snacking, your mouth will see more action too!" Aner Tal, lead author of the study, said in a statement. "In other words, the more distracting the program is the more you will eat."

For the study, 94 undergraduates snacked on M&Ms, cookies, carrots and grapes while watching 20 minutes of television programming. A third of the participants watched a segment of the action movie The Island, a third watched a segment from the talk show, the Charlie Rose Show, and a third watched the same segment from The Island without sound.

"People who were watching The Island ate almost twice as many snacks -- 98 percent more than those watching the talk show!" said Brian Wansink, co-author of the study. "Even those watching "The Island" without sound ate 36 percent more." 

People watching the more distracting content also consumed more calories, with 354 calories consumed by those watching The Island (314 calories with no sound) compared to 215 calories consumed by those watching the Charlie Rose Show.

"More stimulating programs that are fast paced, include many camera cuts, really draw you in and distract you from what you are eating. They can make you eat more because you're paying less attention to how much you are putting in your mouth," Tal explained.

Researchers concluded that programs that engage viewers more might wind up being worse for their diets.

To avoid overeating during a chase scene, researchers suggest pre-plating or pre-portioning TV snacks instead of bringing out a whole bag of chips or box of cookies.

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