Discover the activities that burn the most calories in just half an hour - 1843, the Economist's lifestyle and culture magazine, published a graph based on data from the British Heart Foundation that shows which activities help us lose weight fastest. The categories included household chores, snow sports, ball sports, and water sports, and the 32 activities were plotted on a chart that showed which activities burned the most calories per half an hour.

Did you know that karate helps you lose weight quicker than making love? Or that mowing the lawn is more strenuous than table tennis?! Check out which activities burn the most energy in the gallery!

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Ironing - Ironing burns less than 100 calories per half hour, almost as many calories as intercourse. But is it as steamy?

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Yoga - Yoga burns between 80 and 100 calories per 30 minutes.

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Pilates - Pilates burns slightly more calories than yoga, between about 110 and 120 per half hour.

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Bowling - Grabbing your non-slip shoes and flinging a bowling ball around is as vigorous a workout as Pilates! Unless you're knocking back a few beers at the same time, bowling burns about 110-120 calories per 30 mins.

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Vacuuming - For those who have zero motivation when it comes to housework, just remind yourself that vacuuming burns more calories than a yoga class, at about 120 to 130 per half hour. Not only that but you also get a clean house at the end—double win!

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Table tennis - Depending on how seriously you compete, playing ping-pong burns roughly 150 per 30 mins.

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Walking - Walking burns marginally more: 160 calories per half hour.

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Golf - Who said that accuracy doesn't make you sweat? Well, it's probably all the walking around the golf course that really burns up the calories: 180 every 30 minutes.

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Baseball - Baseball, surfing, and skateboarding all burn roughly 190 calories per half an hour.

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Surfing - This activity also burns 190 per 30 minutes, which is double the energy you'd spend ironing.

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Skateboarding - If you're a frequent skater, you could be keeping quite fit! Burning 380 calories an hour is not bad.

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Lawn mowing - Lawn mowing was the highest calorie-burning household chore on the list. Just half an hour can help you burn three times the amount of calories as sex: 210 calories compared to roughly 70.

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Hiking - Hiking burns about 220 to 240 per half hour. This is the same as the calorific content of a large glass of wine, according to Drink Aware.

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Weight training - Weight training also burns about the same amount of calories as hiking: between 220 and 240.

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Water skiing - Water skiing burns a similar amount, which is also about half the number of calories lost on a 30-minute run.

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Volleyball - Volleyball also comes in at a similar calorie-burning rate: 220-240 per 30 minutes.

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Badminton - A little higher up the scale is Badminton, at 260 calories per half an hour.

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Dance - At 290 calories per 30 minutes, here's proof that dancing is good for you! However, we assume that drunk dancing at night doesn't have the same weight-loss benefits...

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Ice hockey - Snow sports tend to burn more calories than other activities on the graph. Ice hockey burns 300 per half hour.

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Skiing - And skiing burns the same amount!

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Tennis - Tennis players will also be happy to know that half an hour of court time burns up to 300 calories.

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Basketball - This is also true of basketball.

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Ice skating - Ice skating seems to demand more energy, burning 340 calories per half an hour.

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Cycling - Cycling uses up to four times the amount of energy that yoga does, at 370 per 30 minutes.

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Soccer - The game, which demands great fitness, coordination, and agility, burns 370 calories.

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Swimming - Half an hour of swimming also burns the same amount of calories: 370.

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Martial arts - It's true! Practicing martial arts uses over four times more energy than practicing marital ones. At 380 calories burnt per half hour, this activity is guaranteed to work up a sweat.

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Exercise bike - Half an hour on an exercise bike interestingly burns more calories than real life cycling: 410 compared to 370.

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Running - Near the top of the list comes running, which burns 430 calories per half hour. There are just two activities that beat a good jog—would you like to see what they are?

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Canoeing - The second highest calorie-burning exercise is canoeing, at 450 per 30 minutes.

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Boxing -

And finally, boxing is the highest, burning about 480 calories per half an hour. Not bad when all you need is a pair of gloves and a punching bag!

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