While cycling burnt more calories than the bath, bathing burnt as many as a half-hour walk (around 140 calories). Interestingly, participants who had a bath were found to have blood sugar levels around 10 per cent lower after eating than those who had exercised.
Lead researcher Dr Steve Faulkner explained to The Conversation that the health benefits of ‘passive heating’ is a relatively recent field of scientific inquiry. “Repeated passive heating may contribute to reducing chronic inflammation, which is often present with long-term diseases, such as type 2 diabetes,” he said.
This article was first published on Marie Claire.