Walking is a vastly underrated form of exercise. Especially with the meteoric rise of running, the magic of logging daily strolling sessions has become a lost art. But if you’re trying to lose weight, a few slower-paced steps could be exactly what you need to keep the kilos off.
Although it’s a low-intensity exercise, walking still burns plenty of calories. At a normal pace, the average adult can burn up to 65 calories for every kilometre covered. However, ramp up your speed to a brisk canter, and you could burn as much as 300 calories for every 30 minutes you spend on your feet.
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And since it’s low-impact (and low-intensity), you can keep doing it longer. Ideal if you’re starting from square one and haven’t laid down the foundations to log a daily 5km run. But won’t necessarily have to spend hours charting every corner of your neighbourhood; new research suggests that just 8 500 steps every day could be enough to help you lose weight – and keep it off!
The Study: Stepping Up Your Weight Loss
As part of research published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the authors analysed data from 18 previous studies on the link between physical activity and weight loss. They found that while spending more time walking wasn’t linked with increased weight loss as part of a dedicated programme, people who logged more daily steps were more likely to keep the weight off in the long run.
In terms of numbers, participants were able to maintain approximately one percent of the weight lost for every 1 000 steps they walked every day. The magic number, around 8 500 steps.
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Perfect, so that solves keeping it off; but can walking every day help you lose the weight to begin with? After all, the researchers themselves concluded that calorie restriction was most likely more impactful during the participants’ weight-loss journeys than their step counts.
But it’s important to consider this: research has found that people will typically regain up to half of the weight lost during their efforts to cut kilos. And that flab often returns within a year after concluding their weight-loss journey. Ultimately, any activity that helps you maintain your results is as vital as the activities that helped you get to your new low to begin with.
Walk This Way: The Other Benefits You’re Probably Overlooking
Walking isn’t just about burning calories, but it’s definitely a perk. Walking, at a brisk pace or steadily increasing your daily mileage, has been shown to significantly reduce all-cause mortality. Why? It strengthens your heart, lowers blood pressure and makes your body more effective at utilising your oxygen supply. It’s also a great blood sugar regulator, builds bone density and keeps your joints mobile.
While the previous study suggests that 8 500 steps is a good target to help you maintain your weight, further research has shown that you can reap all the benefits of a solid stroll logging far fewer. For instance, in a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, researchers found that walking fewer than 5 000 steps a day at a faster pace could yield a similar mortality risk reduction as tackling 10 000 at a slower pace.
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Other studies suggest that even just 15 minutes of walking at speed could be all you need to decrease your risk of early death by up to 25%.
Step Counts and Mental Wins
There are mental benefits, too. Research by the American Psychological Association shows that logging around 2.5 hours of speedy strolling per week can lower your risk of depression by 25% when compared to doing no activity at all. Plus, a one-hour walk in nature can result in a significant reduction in anxiety and stress.
The caveat: you can reap many of the same rewards from high-intensity reps, including everything from playing tennis to running long distances to lifting weights. But if you’re looking for a low-intensity activity to kick-start your weight-loss journey (or just to keep the weight off), there’s a reason plenty of pros recommend logging the simplest steps.
Walking is accessible, sustainable and more effective than you might’ve realised. It burns calories without demanding much recovery, makes it easier to stay active throughout the day and, perhaps, most importantly, is something you can keep doing consistently. Consistency is key when it comes to losing weight and building healthier habits, and walking is one of the best entry points to taking your first steps on your journey of better health.
