Walking or Running: Deciding The Best Exercise for Your Health – News18

Walking and running are suitable forms of exercise. Both activities burn calories, help you lose weight, and lower the risk of heart disease. Walking and running are both types of cardio, which offer a number of health benefits like lowering cholesterol, strengthening the heart, increasing stamina, boosting the immune system, improving sleep patterns, and helping prevent health conditions including diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. It helps in coping up with depression and reducing anxiety.

Burning Calories

Running helps burn calories when compared to walking. As per reports, a person with 160 pounds burns 15.1 calories every minute while running, whereas a person of the same weight burns 8.7 calories while walking. Running burns more calories than walking.

Heart Health

Running and walking reduce high cholesterol levels, hypertension, diabetes, and the risk of hypertension in humans. Brisk walking for 150 minutes every week helps in lowering the risk of heart disease, as per the American Council of Exercise.

Reduce Belly Fat

Running is more effective at reducing belly fat. High-intensity exercise helps in losing belly fat more significantly than low-intensity exercise in 27-year-old females, according to the National Library of Medicine. Still, there is no strong clarity on which is better, running or walking. Scientists have to conduct research to understand the effect of running and walking on belly fat.

Benefits and Risk

Risk is always there with benefits. There is a high risk of injury while running as it involves higher intensity, which puts more stress on the body and joints. Common injuries like soft tissue injuries, fractures, and shin splints. Walking involves less risk than running.

Ways to Improve Walking

Walk in Group: Daily walking with family and friends helps you to be regular, as alone you might get easy on yourself.

Swing Your Arms While Walking: While walking, always bend your arms 90 degrees and swing them, as it helps you to walk faster and helps in losing 5% to 10% calories as well.

Incline Walking: To make your walk challenging, walk on steep driveways or hills, and if you are using a treadmill, then increase your incline by 5% to 10%.

Both forms of exercise help maintain weight, stabilize mental health, and improve heart health. They both have a positive impact on the human body and mind.