5 Surprising Ways to Burn Off TV Snacking Calories

Not only are boring TV shows a snoozefest, they're bad for your health! A new study reveals watching dull programming makes us eat more - by a whopping 52 percent!

Neuroscientists from Sweden's Uppsala University conducted a recently published study in the open-access journal PLOS ONE on how television programming impacted concurrent eating behavior. In the study, 18 students underwent three experimental conditions with access to snacks: watching an "engaging" show (a Swedish TV comedy series), a "boring" show (an art lecture) and reading a text (the control condition - and if you're curious, the text was about insects!).

The researchers found that participants watching the boring show consumed 52 percent more food than those watching the engaging show. Furthermore, participants watching the engaging show ate less than the control reading group. While TV watching affects food consumption, the study finds that the degree of arousal we get from the type of content we watch is a major factor on how much we snack.

Check out the slideshow above to learn more study details, plus learn 5 surprising ways watching your favorite TV shows can burn off those extra snacks. And also check out Shop This Look: The Natural Way to Curb Your Cravings for an awesome snack idea by our friends at StyleList