Science says: watching scary movies helps you lose weight

Are you sometimes just as unmotivated when it comes to exercising? It always goes in phases for me. Sometimes I happily get up early to attend a class, and a month later I can't imagine ever getting off that couch. I have now found a study that justifies my staying on that couch, because watching horror movies is very good for your figure.

Whut? That would really suit me well, because I do enjoy a good thriller or horror movie. The bloodier, the better. And if I also lose weight from it, I am completely happy. And yes, it really is true.

The University of Westminster conducted research on this and came to the following conclusion: watching a scary movie for 90 minutes can burn up to 113 calories. That's about the same as a half-hour walk. That mandatory half-hour outside for your mental health that everyone has been keeping up since corona, for example. So it's not necessary at all, just put on a really scary movie.

And especially movies that regularly have ‘jump scares’: those moments that really make you jump. They cause your heart rate to go up and you burn more calories. Funny: the research was done with ten scary movies as a test, and the difference is still quite significant. Curious about which movie burns the most calories? Check out the top 10 here.

1. The Shining: 184 calories
2. Jaws: 161 calories
3. The Exorcist: 158 calories
4. Alien: 152 calories
5. Saw: 133 calories
6. A Nightmare on Elm Street: 118 calories
7. Paranormal Activity: 111 calories
8. The Blair Witch Project: 105 calories
9. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre: 107 calories
10. [Rec]: 101 calories

Source: The Guardian