Study: Watching a Movie in Theaters Qualifies as Light Exercise

Is your 2020 goal to get in shape and start working out more? Well, it turns out it's as easy as going to the movies ... kind of. According to a new study, a trip to the movie theater is just as good for your heart as a trip the gym.

I know what you're thinking ... there's no way. But it's true! According to WTVO -

They studied more than 50 people wearing biometric sensors to track their heart rate all while watching the 2019 live-action remake of “Aladdin.” For about 45 minutes of the movie, the viewers’ heart rates rose 40% to 80% higher than the maximum normal resting heart rate, the researchers discovered. Researchers found that the participants’ heart rates during the two-hour movie were in a zone similar to light exercise. That’s the equivalent to taking a brisk walk or gardening, researchers said.

So it's not like going to the movies can replace a 3 mile run by any means. But it does count for something! WTVO also details one more benefit of going to the movies -