If the thought of exercising alone is enough to put you off the treadmill, we may have found an easy solution for you. According to a new study published in Marketing Letters: A Journal of Research in Marketing and featured on Prevention.com, people who think they're doing something fun as opposed to exercising may be more likely to consume fewer calories than their peers.

Researchers at Cornell University realized this when they took two groups of Cornell campers for a walk. One was told that they were going to do something "fun," while the other was told that the walk was for "exercise." After the walk, the participants were treated to an all-you-can-eat lunch. The researchers then noticed an interesting pattern in the participants' diets: the "exercise" group consumed 35 percent more chocolate pudding than the "fun" group. According to Prevention.com, this may have something to do with the way we tend to "reward" ourselves for working out.

While we're not one to say no to a bit of chocolate after a long run, perhaps it might be better to think of exercise as a reward in itself. This way, we can avoid the temptation of consuming additional calories and still feel good about ourselves!

(Photo by Jacson Querubin via Flickr Creative Commons)