which is better for weight loss and health?

which is better for weight loss and health?.

which is better for weight loss and health?

Nowadays, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a hot trend. However, it is great because you watch and maintain your physical form. It is not difficult to start: everyone can do a short race. And even if it’s hard, at least try to take a quick walk. In fact, both are good ways to do it. One can argue for a long time about which one is more effective. In fact, it is worth understanding what your goals are and what state of health you are in.

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What is the best way to maintain body weight and lose weight?

Weight loss requires that you expend maximum calories in your exercise. In this case, of course, running will be more effective, especially when time is limited. Running for half an hour at 10 km/h requires about 500 calories, while brisk walking only requires 130 calories. Therefore, to burn the same number of calories, you would have to walk twice as long as you would run.

There have even been studies that have studied the data of 15,000 walkers and 32,000 runners for 6 years. As expected, it turned out that the first participants used half the energy on average and tended to weigh more. But even when exercise intensity and time were equalized, the runners continued to lose more weight than the walkers.

Weight loss is not only influenced by physical activity itself, but also by nutrition. In this regard, running, again, is preferable. Experiments were carried out with 18 women, some of whom ran and others walked. The scientists investigated what portions of food were consumed after exercise, as well as how the levels of hormones responsible for feelings of appetite and satiety changed.

The result was that although the runners expended more calories in their workouts, they ate less than their walking opponents. The first group had a negative caloric balance (-194 kcal), while it even increased slightly (+41 kcal) among the walkers. It turns out that running slightly curbs hunger and makes you feel fuller after a meal. It turns out that running is the best way to maintain a good figure. But you must understand that in order to keep your weight at a stable level, you will have to run all the time, preferably for life.

It must be said that the idea of ​​this initially scares a lot of people. It’s not a good idea to force yourself: you won’t benefit from those workouts. Walking, on the other hand, is easier, it does not require as much effort. Also, you can listen to music, audiobooks or even have a conversation at the same time. In this way, sport can be a pleasant distraction. Do not underestimate the benefits of walking: just 10 minutes of exercise can help you consume 50 more calories, while an hour of walking can compensate for a small but delicious dessert.

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Running or walking: which is better for joint health?

If you start to “dig” into the pros and cons of running, information quickly emerges about the adverse effects of this sport on the joints. It turns out that the active exercise of running is not so safe, unlike walking? And studies show it. Among the 5,000 participants, the risk of injury was higher in those who ran more than in those who walked briskly.

Men who ran for more than half an hour a day had a much higher risk of injury than their counterparts who exercised for 15 minutes a day. Walking, on the other hand, was shown to be safe regardless of gender. And even long, regular walks have no effect on injury risk. But this is a normal walking speed of 4-5 km/h, which most people find comfortable. However, if we talk about fast walking, the situation is not so clear.

A study was also found on this topic. Eleven amateur athletes participated. The scientists wanted to find out how the speed of walking affects the joints in principle. And it turned out that walking fast at 7.5 km/h causes the knees to turn out in the same way as running. In addition, you have to bend the knees more, which also increases the load on the joints. So running is not that dangerous. In addition, it can be a type of prevention of osteoarthritis. This disease is manifested by the thinning of the joint cartilage, which can cause pain and limited mobility. According to the statistics of 74.7 thousand people, daily jogging of at least 1.8 km (12.4 km per week) reduces the risk of osteoarthritis by 18%. Increasing the daily distance to 5.4 kilometers reduced the risk by 50%.

If the same energy expenditure is applied to walking, the risks of the disease are also reduced, but slightly. The researchers also highlighted the fact that running is easier to achieve the required activity level than walking. In addition, the lack of excess weight is mentioned, which is a serious factor in the development of arthrosis.

There are several scientific papers that suggest that recreational running is actually not as dangerous on the joints as it seems. Soccer players, professional long-distance runners, powerlifters, and people who have quit the sport are at much higher risk. After analyzing the data of 114,000 people, it was discovered that only 3.5% of amateur runners suffered from knee or hip osteoarthritis, while in the group of people who ignored the sport, one in ten people suffered from cartilage thinning. . Therefore, adequate moderate activity during running training will not damage your joints, but will strengthen them.

The right type of exercise will also help you avoid other injuries. If you want to make sure you don’t have them or have some other musculoskeletal condition, take long walks at a comfortable pace. This will put less stress on your joints.

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Is walking or running better for general health and longevity?

The WHO recommends 150-300 minutes of light activity or 75-150 minutes of moderate activity each week to maintain a stable level of health. Speaking of the daily norm, it corresponds to 20-40 minutes of walking or 10-20 minutes of running. Both are equally good for your health.

In another experiment, men ran for half an hour 4 times a week for six months or walked the same amount of time 6 times a week. It turned out that the resulting weight loss was about the same, and stamina was similarly improved.

Another study looked at data from 49,000 people over 6 years. It was found that, with comparable energy expenditure, both running and walking were quite good at reducing the risks of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, high cholesterol, and possibly even coronary heart disease. However, it appears that vigorous exercise has a stronger effect on prolonging life. Analyzes were conducted on the performance of 15 years of 55,000 people. It turns out that regular running reduces the risk of death from cardiovascular disease by 50% and decreases the risk of death from other causes by 29%.

A weekly jog of 50 minutes or a 10-kilometer race already extends your life. This norm can be met in 1-2 workouts or in 5 small ones, in a modest 10 minutes. In another case, data from 17,500 people were analysed. It turned out that calm and regular jogging can increase the life expectancy of women by 5.6 years, and that of men by 6.2 years.

Walking also helps to prolong life, although the situation here is not so unambiguous. For example, after analyzing the data of 27.7 thousand people, it was possible to come to a conclusion about the increase in life expectancy of women by 1.1 years, and of men – by 1.3 years. Another study compared the benefits of running and walking on the survival rate of women with breast cancer. It turned out that the first activity was clearly superior to the second. Data from 986 participants were taken into account. The scientists concluded that, with an energy expenditure comparable to that of running or walking, the first activity reduced the risk of death five times more. However, this is only a single study; For now, these results are worth paying attention to, but not blindly counting on success.

Taking into account the similar effects on endurance, weight, and heart health, it can be assumed that walking can prolong life just as effectively as running. But for this we take into account a comparable energy expenditure.

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