New research shows that changing walking speed can make a substantial difference to the number of calories
burned.
Changing the pace of walking can burn up to 20% more calories compared with maintaining a constant speed, say the researchers.
Writing in the journal Biology Letters, two engineering researchers at Ohio State University (OSU)
in Columbus describe how, compared with maintaining a steady pace, walking at a varying pace can burn up to 20% more
calories.
They believe their study is among the first to measure the effect of changing walking pace on calories burned, or
“metabolic cost.” Coauthor Manoj Srinivasan, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, who
heads the movement lab at OSU, notes:
“Measuring the metabolic cost of changing speeds is very important because people don’t live their lives
on treadmills and do not walk at constant speeds. We found that changing speeds can increase the cost of walking
substantially.”
The study is significant because it suggests traditional methods of measuring calories burned while walking in
daily life or playing sports may be underestimating them.
Prof. Srinivasan explains that just changing speed burns energy, but that is not usually taken into account in
calorie-burning estimates.
He and coauthor Nidhi Seethapathi, a doctoral fellow in mechanical engineering, find that up to 8% of the
calories we burn every day are spent just in starting and stopping walking.
“Walking at any speed costs some energy,” says Seethapathi, “but when you’re changing the speed, you’re pressing
the gas pedal, so to speak.”
She explains that changing pace, which effects a change in the kinetic energy of a person, requires the legs to
work slightly harder, and that requires more energy.
Participants changed walking pace on steady treadmills
For their study, the researchers invited volunteers to walk on treadmills and change their walking pace without
changing the speed of the treadmill. Thus, when walking more quickly, the participant moved to the front of the
treadmill, and when walking more slowly, they moved to the back.
The following video shows a participant changing walking speed without changing the treadmill speed:
The researchers measured the cost of changing walking speeds as the participants changed their walking pace. They
found that:
“The metabolic rate for oscillating-speed walking was significantly higher than that for constant-speed
walking.” The increase was between 6-20% for speed fluctuations ranging from +0.13-0.27 to -0.13-0.27
meters per second.
Prof. Srinivasan explains that usually in such experiments, the researchers change the treadmill speed. But this
means the treadmill itself is doing some of the work, not the person walking.
To burn more calories when walking, Prof. Srinivasan offers these tips:
“Just do weird things. Walk with a backpack, walk with weights on your legs. Walk for a while, then
stop and repeat that. Walk in a curve as opposed to a straight line.”
Meanwhile, Medical News Today recently learned how 30 minutes of daily
exercise relieves asthma symptoms. The researchers, who report their findings in BMJ Open Respiratory
Research, say the exercise does not have to be strenuous, and give walking as an example.
Written by Catharine Paddock PhD
Copyright: Medical News Today
Read more breaking health news on our homepage