Taking a Hot Bath May Burn as Many Calories as This Exercise

Good news, Womanistas — you might be able to skip your 30-minute walk today!According to Dr. [...]

By Olivia Rowe

spa bath
(Photo: iStock)

Good news, Womanistas — you might be able to skip your 30-minute walk today!

According to Dr. Steve Faulkner, a researcher at Loughborough University, taking a hot, relaxing bath may have similar health benefits to exercising, in addition to contributing to prevention of type 2 diabetes.

Faulkner expressed to The Conversation that science has just started to discover how "passive heating" can improve health.

The discovery began when the doctor and his team started researching the effect a hot bath has on blood sugar control, as well as the number of calories burned. The study focused on 14 people each enjoying an hour-long soak in a 104-degree bath, as well as heading out on an hour's bicycle ride.

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The tests were designed to raise core body temperature by one degree so that the research team was able to measure how many calories each session burned.

Although cycling burned more calories than the bath, a 30-minute walk used up as many calories as the soak.

"The overall blood sugar response to both conditions was similar, but peak blood sugar after eating was about 10 percent lower when participants took a hot bath compared with when they exercised," Dr. Faulkner reported.

"This suggests that repeated passive heating may contribute to reducing chronic inflammation, which is often present with long-term diseases, such as type 2 diabetes," he added.

While we don't think they would suggest swapping out a brisk walk for a long bath every day, this certainly means you can indulge in a soak completely guilt-free!

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