Brisk walking better than the gym

November 5, 2015

A new research by the London School of Economics and Political Science says that people who brisk walk lose weight more than those who go to the gym.

Dr Grace Lordan, a specialist in health economics who led the research, examined reported physical activity levels from the annual Health Survey for England (HSE) from 1999 to 2012. In particular, she focused on activities which increased heart rate and caused perspiring. Individuals reported on the number of periods they engaged in 30 minutes or more of:

Walking at a fast or brisk pace.
Moderate-intensity sports or exercise, such as swimming, cycling, working out at the gym, dancing, running, football/rugby, badminton/tennis, squash, and exercises including press-ups and sit-ups.
Heavy housework, such as moving heavy furniture, walking with heavy shopping, scrubbing floors.
Heavy manual activities, such as digging, felling trees, chopping wood and moving heavy loads.

She then found that men and women who regularly walked briskly for more than 30 minutes had lower BMIs and smaller waists than those who engaged in regular sports/exercise.

“The results thus provide an argument for a campaign to promote walking…Focus on physical activity is less controversial as it would not be subject to political lobbying as is the case for “fat” tax and other policies that aim to change consumption of junk foods in a person’s diet.” the study says

It adds: “Given the obesity epidemic and the fact that a large proportion of people in the UK are inactive, recommending that people walk briskly more often is a cheap and easy policy option. Additionally, there is no monetary cost to walking so it is very likely that the benefits will outweigh the costs. It has also been shown by the same authors that walking is associated with better physical and mental health. So, a simple policy that “every step counts” may be a step towards curbing the upward trend in obesity rates and beneficial for other health conditions.”

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