Want to lose weight? Then run, don't Walk: study

By Kathleen Doheny
HealthDay Reporter

FRIDAY, April 5 (HealthDay News)-need to lose weight? Help run more than walk, according to new research.

And to keep out those lost pounds, keep running, suggests Paul Williams, a staff scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California that compared to weight loss and weight control in thousands of runners and walkers in six years.

The same amount of exercise in adults with a body mass index over 28 (considered overweight) resulted in greater weight loss the 90 per cent for runners over walkers, body found.

"Running is more effective than walking in preventing weight gain and weight loss," he said. Both groups shed pounds, but most runners, lost found Williams.

This does not mean that vigorous exercise is all you need to do to lose weight. "You have to add the diet," he said. "Exercise is not the most effective way."

More than a third of adults in the United States are obese, putting them at risk of serious health risks such as diabetes and heart disease.

For the new study, published in the April issue of Medicine Science in Sports & & exercise, Williams estimated changes in body mass index (BMI) of more than 32,000 runners and walkers more than 15,000. (BMI is a calculation of body fat based on height and weight). All drafted between 1998 and 2001.

Participants reported their height and weight for the five previous years. They also provided their waistline and information on their training, miles including run or walked, frequency, rhythm, and any other exercise they did.

Williams has found some differences between runners and walkers. The walkers were older, on average, compared to runners-53 compared to 41 years, respectively, for women; among men, versus 48 62 years.

At the beginning, the runners also had a lower BMI. Average male BMI was 24 runners; women was 22. Average male BMI walkers was 27; women, 25. A BMI of 25 is the low end of overweight.

The walkers were also more likely to smoke and more likely to eat fruits, the study found.

After six years of follow-up, both weight loss groups. But male runners and heavier female runners had better results.

"A woman overweight, of medium height and a BMI over 28 could expect to lose 19 pounds by adding a 3.2-mile to his daily routine, but only 9 pounds of exhausting the same amount of energy at the foot," said Williams. The total weight loss occurs gradually, but the effects are seen from the beginning.

Also performs takes less time to produce the same amount of effort, Williams said. For example, the same woman would need 4.6 km walking at a brisk pace to spend the effort of running 3.2 miles. Running would take about 40 minutes. the walk of about an hour and 20 minutes, he said.

One of the reasons that execution produces more metabolic weight loss is. "If you exercise vigorously as the race, your metabolic rate stays high after exercise," said Williams. "For hikers, much less so."

It was also shown that vigorous exercisers who eat too much are good at following compensation, he said. "If runners overeat one day, they make up for it later," he said.

Williams decided to study running and walking because "runners and walkers expected on what they are doing by how they go," he said. Gym rats, on the other hand, are less precise about reporting their running time, he said.

The results are not a surprise, said Dr. Tim Church, Director of preventive medicine research at Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, who was not involved in the study.

But the Church said that you shouldn't get all the credit for weight control. "The people who are running are more focused on other issues," he said. "I guarantee you, runners are more focused on their diet than hikers.

And that's a good thing, he said. "If you're worried about your weight, you probably need to focus on diet and physical activity [is]," he explained.

People can exercise strenuously without having to jog or run, he added. Other forms of aerobic exercise, such as swimming or cycling, may be done vigorously.

Not everyone wants to run, Williams agreed. And moderate physical activity, such as walking slower, is still useful, he said.

"The exercise that you do is better than no exercise to do," said Williams. "We show weight loss benefit with your feet; the only benefits that are not as large as with the race. "

But walking is just as good as running to reduce the risk factors for heart disease, including high cholesterol levels, blood pressure and blood sugar, according to a different study that the same walkers and runners analyzed. That study was published on-line April 4 in the journal arteriosclerosis, thrombosis and vascular biology.

Copyright © 2013 HealthDay. All rights reserved. Sources: Paul t. Williams, Ph.d., staff scientist, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, California; Timothy Church, M.D., Ph.d., mph, Research Director of preventive medicine, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, La.; April 2013, Medicine Science in Sports & & exercise