Although walking is good for your wellbeing, if you want to lose weight then you have to run and continue running. This is according to a new study, published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, that compared weight loss and weight control in thousands of runners and walkers over six years, and found that, in adults with a body mass index over 28 (deemed overweight), the same amount of exercise led to a 90% greater weight loss for runners compared to walkers.
For the research, study leader Paul Williams, a staff scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, evaluated changes in body mass index (BMI) of more than 32,000 runners and more than 15,000 walkers. Based on the findings, Williams asserted, ‘Running is more effective than walking in preventing weight gain and achieving weight loss.’ However, Williams was quick to add that you cannot achieve weight loss simply by undertaking vigorous exercise. ‘You do have to add dieting,’ he noted. ‘Exercise is not by itself the most effective way.’
When it came to the individual runners and walkers, Williams did detect some differences. On average, the walkers were older than the runners, with average ages of 53 and 41 respectively among women, and 62 and 48 among men. From the beginning of the study, the runners tended to have a lower BMI, as the average BMI among male and female runners was 24 and 22 respectively, while walkers came in at 27 and 25. While the walkers were more likely to be smokers, the study also found that these people were also likelier to eat fruit. Even though both groups had lost weight after the six-year follow-up, those with the best results were the male runners and heavier female runners.
Williams explained, ‘An overweight woman of average height and a BMI over 28 might expect to lose 19 pounds by adding a 3.2-mile run to her daily routine, but only nine pounds by expending the same amount of energy by walking.’ Although you’d achieve that total weight loss occurs gradually, you would see the effects from the start. An added bonus of running over walking is that it takes less time to produce the same amount of effort, which is an important factor to consider if you have a busy schedule. Williams outlined that, to expend the effort of running 3.2 miles (which would take roughly 40 minutes), you would need to walk 4.6 miles (which would add up to an hour and 20 minutes).
So why does running produce more weight loss? Williams clarified, ‘If you exercise vigorously like running, your metabolic rate remains elevated after the exercise. For walkers, much less so.’ Aside from your metabolism, previous research has shown that vigorous exercisers who overeat are better at compensating later. ‘If runners overeat one day, they make up for it the next,’ Williams said. He added that the reason he chose to evaluate runners and walkers over those who go to the gym is that ‘runners and walkers think about how much they are doing by how far they go,’ while gym rats are less accurate about reporting their exercise time.
Dr. Tim Church, director of preventive medicine research at Pennington Biomedical Research Centre, Baton Rouge, who was not involved in the study, commented that the findings aren’t surprising, but the activity of running shouldn’t get all the credit for the weight control results it produces, as runners are more aware of weight loss wellness. ‘People who are running are more focused on other weight issues,’ Church stated. ‘I guarantee you, the runners are way more focused on their diet than the walkers…If you are concerned about weight, you probably need to focus on [both] diet and physical activity.’