A wellness blog claimed cold showers burn 500 extra calories a day, so I checked the actual study and it was 9 guys sitting in water for an hour

Fiona Kim · 2026-10-08T15:10:03.696015+00:00

The blog linked a 2016 paper from a university in the Netherlands, and the real number in the results table was about 14 percent more calories burned during the cold soak itself, which works out to maybe 15 to 20 calories, not 500, and the sample was 9 young men who were basically shivering in a lab tub, so if anyone has a better source for the "cold plunge melts fat" claim I would honestly love to see it because I cannot find one anywhere.

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A wellness blog claimed cold showers burn 500 extra calories a day, so I checked the actual study and it was 9 guys sitting in water for an hour | Debunk This Article - Vivisector