Diet Information
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Laughter Can Help to Lose WeightIt's official - whatever diet you're on, laughter helps burn extra calories! Researchers have found that if we laugh for 10-15 minutes a day, we burn enough calories to lose 4.4 pounds in a year. Over a decade, that's a total weight loss of 44 pounds - quite enough to prevent mid-life weight gain, as well as the increase in unhealthy abdominal fat that accompanies it. The results of the weight-loss possibilities of laughter were presented at the annual European Congress on Obesity. Study Into Calories Burned By LaughingResearchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, studied 45 pairs of friends, who were closeted in a "metabolic chamber" (a room specially designed so scientists can measure how much oxygen is inhaled and how much carbon dioxide is exhaled in order to measure how many calories are burned). Subjects also wore heart rate monitors as a back-up measure of changes. Inside the room, the subjects watched a selection of humorous and non-humorous video clips. The heart rate, laughter and breathing information was then analyzed. |
ResultsOn average, the subjects burned 20 percent
more calories when laughing, compared to not Laugh, Eat a Healthy Diet and Take Regular ExerciseNo one is suggesting that laughter can replace a calorie-controlled diet and regular exercise, as a weight reduction strategy. But maybe a sense of humor combined with good eating and exercise habits can help tip the weighing scales in your favor! |