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Trick of the Treats

Trick of the Treats

Reading time: 5 minutes

by Cecily Batten

Although naysayers will claim that it’s a phony American tradition, the holiday dates back to Celtic Europe. Samhain is a Pagan festival, celebrated to this day, which marks the beginning of winter with a ‘feast of the dead’. It was later adapted by Christians in the 9th Century to match up with ‘All Saints’ Day’, and over time grew into what we now know as Halloween. If anything, modern traditions of dressing in costume and scaring one another predate the strictly religious elements of the festivity. All we know is that it’s a great excuse for some sweet treats.

Halloween is a spooky time.

Speaking of sweets, Halloween is also a period of indulgence, and it’s important not to neglect your health during the festivities. Looking into averages, Selecta have uncovered the spooky truth behind how long it can take you to burn off your haunted haul of trick-or-treated goodies.

The average walking speed is 3mph, and the average UK adult can burn 100 calories per mile of walking. This means that on average, a UK adult can burn 300 calories per hour of trick or treating. We estimate that Children can burn 180 calories during the same hour of activity.

If we assume that the average person can trick or treat one house every 2 minutes, that’s 100 calories for every 10 houses for adults, or 60 calories for children. Comparing these figures to the calorie counts of some of our favourite snacks undoubtedly encourages consumption in moderation! Take a look below at our graphic, which compares how many houses you have to visit to burn off the treats you might receive.

Scary stuff.