New study says taking a hot bath burns as many calories as a 30-minute walk

Researchers are saying that relaxing in a hot bath may be just as beneficial for your body as a 30-minute walk.

Good news: researchers are saying that relaxing in a hot bath and doing absolutely nothing may be just as beneficial for your body as a 30-minute walk. A group at Loughborough University did the strenuous job of tracking this theory with 14 men who were put through two tests: a one-hour bicycle ride and a one-hour bath in 104-degree-Fahrenheit water.

The goal was to raise the body’s core temperature by one degree. All in all, the cycling burned many more calories, but the researchers did come across something somewhat surprising: Relaxing in the hot bath did burn 130 calories, which is about the amount you’ll burn on a half-hour walk.