Good news for those looking to lose weight before the holidays! A recent U.K. study has found that fear makes for one great calorie burner. After examining a group of people as they viewed a scary movie, researchers concluded that watching a horror film can burn nearly 200 calories.
Crazy right?! And I love that the news comes just in the nick of time for Halloween!
The experiment, conducted by the University of Westminster, measured the amount of energy expended by the group as they watched a variety of horror movies. They discovered that the viewer's pulse quickened and heightened their adrenaline, which helped use up more calories in the body. Those who watched an hour and a half of the scary film used up as much as 113 calories, almost the same as the amount burned during a half-hour walk.
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Wow, who would ever have thought?! I could have been burning calories from my couch all this time…although then again, I'm not really a fan of scary movies so I'd probably prefer the walk.
But that's not all the researchers found. Get this–depending on how scary the movie is, the amount of calories burned could actually go up or down. So which flick was the most succesful calorie-burner? The Shining! The average viewer who watched the classic thriller used up a whopping 184 calories…just from pure adrenaline-pumping terror! Meanwhile, Jaws took the runner-up spot, with viewers burning on average 161 calories, and The Exorcist came third, with 158 calories.
Considering Halloween is just days away, I couldn't think of more perfect timing for this research to be released! Now, if you steal a candy bar for yourself, you don't have to feel too guilty–you can just pop The Shining into your DVD player, take a seat and let all the gory scenes work their magic!
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