AN average shopping trip around the intu Uxbridge shopping centre could burn 400 calories.

With Ditch New Year’s Resolution Day – the day on which most people give up their resolutions – looming this week, intu is encouraging visitors to stay in shape by giving out on-the-spot rewards to people seen taking the stairs.

Doing a circuit around the centre is approximately 750 metres – that’s without popping into any of the stores – meaning 150 calories burned.

Add in speeding up reluctant children or a meandering partner, plus deciding and undeciding on which dress to buy, that’s around 3,500 steps.

Factor in carrying the extra weight of shopping bags and it’s estimated you can burn on average 320-370 calories in a two-hour shop. That’s the equivalent of a cheeseburger from McDonald’s.

All of this without climbing a single step. The centre has 160 steps in total and, if you do them all to get to your car, you burn another 30 calories.

Over the next week, if you’re spotted taking the stairs by a member of intu Uxbridge’s team during January, you could be in for a surprise treat.