Walk fast to get help with with weight loss.

Walking has been promoted as an easy way to lose weight and stay in shape, but is it really effective? That is exactly what the reviewed researched investigated.

The participants a total of 4511 adults aged 18-64 years were included in the study(Fan JX, et al. 2013). The body mass index (BMI) were measured and accelerometers were used to evaluate minutes per day of high intensity bouts of walking of either 10 minutes or more, or less than 10 minutes. This was compared with lower intensity walking of 10 minutes or more per day and lower intensity walking of less than 10 minutes per day.

It was found that both higher intensity short-duration or walking long-duration were related to reduced BMI or risk of overweight/obesity. Neither the short walks or the long walks of lower intensity were found to have a positive effect on BMI or risk of overweight/obesity.

The message is that even less than 10 minutes of walking per day can help you prevent weight gain if it is high intensity walking. This is another example showing that it is the intensity of the exercise you do that is important, not the time you spend doing it. The more intense you exercise, the less time you need to spend doing it.

Fan JX, Brown BB, Hanson H, Kowaleski-Jones L, Smith KR, Zick CD Moderate to vigorous physical activity and weight outcomes: does every minute count? Am J Health Promot. 2013 Sep-Oct;28(1):41-9. doi: 10.4278/ajhp.120606-QUAL-286. Epub 2013 Mar 4.