AN Italian study has revealed how you should walk to burn the most calories.
You would think that walking intensely and quickly would be the best way to burn off your Christmas treats, but researchers at the University of Milan have revealed that taking short breaks while walking could actually increase the amount of calories burnt.
According to the study, walking or climbing stairs in 10-30 second intervals requires 20-60% more oxygen than continual activity.
Oxygen use is the common way to measure energy consumption and reveals that doing reps and taking rests is more effective than continuous exercise.
Researchers showed that if we walk in short series, our conversion of oxygen into energy is less efficient, but paradoxically this uses more energy, meaning we burn more calories.
The news will be welcomed by many who struggle to walk without resting as it seems the short breaks could actually be beneficial.
References:
F. Luciano, L. Ruggiero, A.E. Minetti, G. Pavei. ‘Move less, spend more: the metabolic demands of short walking bouts’. Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Biological Sciences. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2024.1220Mathew P. White, Ian Alcock, James Grellier, Benedict W. Wheeler, Terry Hartig, Sara L. Warber, Angie Bone, Michael H. Depledge, Lora E. Fleming. ‘Spending at least 120?minutes a week in nature is associated with good health and wellbeing’. Scientific Reports, article number 7730. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-44097-3