LAUGHTER really is the best medicine for a weight problem.
While we have always known this on an intuitive level for general health, some researchers actually got together some years ago to measure laughter's health benefits and the results were published in the International Journal of Obesity.
The small study included 45 pairs of adult friends, who were shown either funny or serious film clips in a room that was set up with equipment to measure the amount of calories burnt and to monitor the rate, duration and type of laughter. The participants also wore heart monitors to measure their heart rate.
Burns off the calories
Lead researcher Dr Maciej Buchowski, from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, explained: "Participants had 10 to 20 percent higher energy expenditure during episodes of laughter than during rest.
"We have calculated that the energy cost of 15 minutes of laughter over one year may translate into annual weight loss of 2kg."
Promotes good health
According to UK-based Weight Loss Resources.com (WLR), laughter benefits health, possibly because it reduces muscle tension, increases the amount of oxygen in the blood, exercises the heart and produces happy chemicals in the brain called endorphins. Thus laughing would burn more calories too, as a result of the extra movement and increase in heart rate linked with laughing.
Research already suggests that laughter is good for the heart and immune system, and appears to help ease pain.
Dr Shevach Friedler at the Assaf Harofeh Medical Centre in Zerifin (Israel) said: "Laughter has a physiological effect as well as a psychological one. It is an intuitive human trait. We do not learn it. It's in our genes. If we retain this in our genes then probably it has beneficial effects."
He said it was likely that more research would uncover many more health benefits linked to laughter.
As parents, we could encourage our children to participate in activities that promote fun and laughter. Little changes can make big differences.
Enjoy that cartoon or comedy!
As WLR notes, having a laugh usually makes most of us feel more positive about life - and ultimately, this can help us feel better about ourselves and make us more motivated to lose excess weight.
A good excuse as any for watching favourite cartoons or comedy programmes!
