BEIJING, June 7 -- Laughing has long been described as the best medicine. Now, scientists say it can also help burn a few extra calories.

    Scientists said over the weekend that laughing out loud for 10 to 15 minutes per day burns between 10 and 40 calories, depending on a person's weight.

    ¡°We calculated that this is equal to 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) a year if you do it every day,¡± Dr. Maciej Buchowski, of Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee, told an obesity conference on Saturday.

    ¡°We found that when people were laughing the increase was about 20 percent above the basic metabolism rate,¡± Buchowski explained.

    Buchowski and his colleagues recruited 100 students who were friends or couples and measured the energy expenditure of each pair while they watched television comedy clips in a metabolic chamber.

    About 2,000 delegates from 80 countries attended the four-day European Congress on Obesity that concluded on Saturday. Enditem

(Agencies)