Does Walking 1 Hour Every Day Aid Weight Loss?
The simplicity of walking makes it an appealing activity for many particularly those looking to burn extra calories. The number of calories you burn walking depends on numerous factors, especially your weight and walking speed. The faster you walk and the more you weigh, the more calories you expend.
Other factors that influence the number of calories burned include terrain, outdoor/indoor temperature, and your age and sex. The number of calories you burn walking depends mainly on your weight and walking speed. Walking faster allows you to burn more calories per hour.
Walking can help you lose weight.
Walking 1 hour each day can help you burn calories and, in turn, lose weight. In one study, 11 moderate-weight women lost an average of 7.7 kg, or 10% of their initial body weight, after 6 months of brisk daily walking . The women progressively increased their walking duration over the 6 months to reach a maximum of 1 hour per day but experienced little weight loss until they walked at least 30 minutes daily.
This result indicates that the time spent walking may be correlated with weight loss. Another study noted that women with obesity who walked 3 days per week for 50–70 minutes lost about 2.7 kg over 12 weeks, compared with women who didn’t walk.
Combined with your diet.
While walking itself can help you lose weight, it’s much more effective when combined with a calorie-restricted diet. In a 12-week study, people with obesity restricted calories by 500–800 per day. One group walked 3 hours per week at 6 km/h, while the other group didn’t walk. While both groups lost a significant amount of body weight, those in the walking group lost about 2kg more, on average, than those who didn’t walk.
Interestingly, weight loss may also be influenced by whether you walk continuously or in shorter bursts. In a 24-week study, women with excess weight or obesity restricted their calorie intake by 500–600 per day and either walked briskly for 50 minutes per day or did two 25-minute bouts per day.
Those who did the two shorter workouts per day lost 1.7 kg more than those who did 50 minutes of continuous walking. Other studies show no significant differences in weight loss between continuous and intermittent walking.
Thus, you should choose whichever routine works best for you.
How much weight can you lose by walking 1 hour per day?
To lose weight, you must consistently eat fewer calories than you expend on a daily basis. You can either increase the number of calories you burn via exercise like walking, decrease the number of calories you consume, or both. It’s often stated that 0.45 kg of body weight is equivalent to 3,500 calories. Based on this theory, you would need to reduce your calorie intake by 500 for 7 days to lose 0.45 kg per week.
Although this rule fails to account for people with lower body fat percentages, as well as the decrease in calorie expenditure that comes with weight loss, a calorie deficit of 500 calories per day is appropriate for most people who want to lose weight.
Part of this deficit can be achieved by walking 1 hour per day, while you can also gradually decrease the number of calories you consume. Depending on your calorie intake, a deficit of 500 calories per day may lead to 0.2–0.9 kg of weight loss per week.
Other health benefits of walking
Beyond weight loss, walking has several other benefits, especially when you walk multiple times per week for 30–60 minutes. These health effects include :
- Decreased LDL (bad) cholesterol
- Increased HDL (good) cholesterol
- Improved mood
- Decreased blood pressure
These benefits translate to a reduced risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and overall mortality, as well as improved quality of life.
Moreover, an extra 30 minutes of walking, on top of your normal daily activity, is associated with less weight gain over time. This is noteworthy because adults tend to gain 0.5–1 kg per year.
How to get started walking
Walking is an excellent form of exercise that most people can engage in. If you want to walk daily for exercise, it’s important to start slowly and progressively increase your duration and intensity. If you’re just starting, walking fast for a long time can leave you fatigued, sore, and unmotivated.
Instead, start by walking 10–15 minutes per day at a comfortable pace. From there, you can increase your walking time by 10–15 minutes each week until you reach 1 hour per day, or a different length of time that feels good for you.
After this, if desired, you can work on increasing your walking speed.
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