Watching horror movies burns calories, recent study finds
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Life-changing news for horror film aficionados and serial dieters alike, just in time for a Halloween candy splurge: A recent study found that watching horror movies could lead to weight loss, The Telegraph reports.
Researchers at the University of Westminster in the U.K. discovered that watching 90 minutes of a scary movie can burn up to 113 calories — the equivalent of a chocolate bar. The study — commissioned by the British movie rental service LOVEFiLM — recorded the pulse, heart rate, oxygen intake, and carbon dioxide output of 10 subjects (albeit, a small sample size) as they watched fright flicks and concluded that the resulting adrenaline-rush lowered their appetites and killed calories. The biggest calorie-burners were films like The Shining and Jaws, which made viewers jump in their seats.
So indulge in all the candy corn and horribly bad horror flicks (you can take your pick from Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, Paranormal Activity 4, and House at the End of the Street) today, free of guilt.
Here are the top 10 movies to watch to scare yourself thin; plan your cinema diet accordingly:
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
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