Have you seen Hershey’s newest Halloween treat?
The Screme Egg is a twist on the chocolate giant’s popular Easter sweet, the Cadbury Creme Egg. The shape is the same, as is the egg’s white filling, but the Halloween version features a green yolk-like center instead of yellow.
If that doesn’t make you scream, perhaps the nutritional value will. A single Screme Egg contains 150 calories and five grams of fat. While that may not seem like a frightening amount, consider that the average adult can fit roughly four of the eggs in his or her mouth at one time. Add that to the multiple hits most moms and dads take on their kids’ Halloween loot and you may be forced to purchase bigger pants before Thanksgiving rolls around.
Or, maybe not, depending on how much of a scaredy-cat you are.
Scientists at the University of Westminster just released research that claims watching horror movies can help you lose weight.
Meaning you can gorge on your kid’s trick-or-treat stash while sitting on the couch watching the likes of “Jaws” and “Alien” and burn as many calories as you would if you were to take a brisk 30-minute walk.
Sounds more like Christmas than Halloween, right?
But, wait, it gets even better.
The study found the scarier the movie, the more calories you’re likely to burn.
Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.
Here’s how this unique weight loss trick came to be: University researchers monitored a group of people as they watched a selection of classic horror films, such as “Nightmare on Elm Street” and “Saw”. They then reviewed the participants’ heart rate, oxygen intake and carbon dioxide output to calculate how much energy they were using. Scientists found, on average, the study’s volunteers burned a third more calories watching the scary films than if they had been sitting in front of a blank screen.
Researchers found viewers burned approximately 115 calories watching a 90-minute film. However, that number spiked to nearly 185 calories when participants watched especially freaky flicks, such as “The Shining”. The 1980 psychological thriller starring Jack Nicholson helped the human lab rats burn the equivalent of a Hershey Screme Egg.
Dr. Richard Mackenzie, a metabolism specialist at the University of Westminster, explained the weight loss this way: “It is the release of fast-acting adrenaline, produced during short bursts of intense stress, or in this case, fear, which is known to lower the appetite, increase the basal metabolic rate and ultimately burn a higher level of calories.”
Interestingly, Steven Spielberg’s 1975 spookster, “Jaws” helped study participants burn roughly 160 calories, while the 1973 classic, “The Exorcist,” shaved 158 calories from viewers’ waists.
So, forget about running an extra mile after sneaking a few treats from your kids’ plastic pumpkins this Halloween. Instead, sit back on your sofa with a hair-raising movie and watch the calories melt away.
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