Researchers in the US last week revealed what they discovered as they aimed to get to the bottom of the allure of the mindless munching that often accompanies watching television or movies.

The problem, they say, comes down to association, and they've come up with a solution that doesn't involve shunning TV forever: simply eat with your nondominant hand.

"When we've repeatedly eaten a particular food in a particular environment, our brain comes to associate the food with that environment and makes us keep eating as long as those environmental cues are present," study researcher David Neal, a psychology professor at University of Southern California, said in a statement.