The debate about whether it is better to walk quickly or walk slowly is settled. At least if what we are looking for is our health

Walking is an exercise that not only has the advantage of helping us maintain good health, it is also affordable for people with difficulties to exercise in other ways due to circumstances such as age or rhythm. However An old debate persistsSI for extract the benefits of this exercise We can go with a relaxed step or if on the contrary a prescription rhythm is essential. If there are no reasons such as injuries that can be aggravated with sports, physical activity, even in “small doses”, it will always be better than inactivity. That is why the debate about the ideal of walking slowly suits us is easy to settle: walking slowly is better than not walking. Of course, experts tend to agree that, if we have the possibility, better to accelerate the step. Walking can help our health in different ways. Our heart health is, surely, the one that can be appreciated most to wear comfortable footwear and go for a walk, but it is not the only one. Walk has been related to a lower impact of diseases such as diabetes but can also have psychological benefits such as stress reduction or help Improve concentrationespecially when we walk through natural environments. But then what about the Benefits of walking quickly? Again, cardiovascular health is in the center of the debate. A study Recent in highlighting this is the one published in 2024 in the magazine Atherosisclerosis. The study, which had almost 20,000 participants, analyzed their mortality in a period of 9.4 years. The team responsible for the analysis detected an inverse relationship between the rhythm with which they used to walk and the risk of death and suffering from cardiovascular diseases. Studies that relate the rhythm of our gait with the benefits that walk gives our health They are diverse. Some also cover the relationship between speed and cognitive deterioration. Some examples are found in The review published in 2016 In the magazine Ageing Research Reviews. The team responsible for the analysis found a relationship between the speed of the passage when walking and the cognitive deteriorationalthough it was not conclusive about the existence of a direct causal relationship since it could also be cognitive deterioration that makes us walk more slowly. Lose weight Weight is an important risk factor in many diseases. That is why, although thinning does not have to imply that we will be healthier, it can be useful to reduce this risk or as a simple motivation towards healthier habits. Among them, exercise. If our goal is to lose weight, accelerate the step It can also be helpful. Of course, the context can be important, as a group of researchers recently discovered. In Your studypublished in 2024 in the magazine Sports Science & Medicine, They detected that Genetics could be decisive when reducing our weight through this type of exercise. Walking is an affordable and healthy exercise, but science finds more and more evidence that it is best to accelerate the step if we want to make the most of the benefits of our walks. Walking, even at a leisurely rhythm, can help our health, but can also help us take the habit necessary to direct us, little by little, towards a more active life. Step by step. In Xataka | The 10,000 daily steps were always a myth. Science already knows what the optimal number is Image | MARTINDALSGAARDSØRENSEN

If “Fast Walk” serves for yourself to lose weight

Is it possible to lose weight walking? It is a recurring question and is logical. After all, physical activity facilitates the consumption of calories that our body stores as fat. But it also turns out to be a form of Exercise available to almost everyonesomething important if we take into account that constancy is usually key when we talk about thinning. However, the answer to this question is somewhat more complex than it might seem. Yeah, walk It is a good way to burn calories, and much more: it is also an exercise that provides benefits to our cardiorespiratory and muscular health, and also helps prevent the appearance of diabetes, among other varied effects. That is why it is usually remembered from time to time that, although walking it can be very useful, it may not be the exercise that best suits our plans, and could be seen more as a complement that as the main resource to which we stick to. Now, let’s investigate why. As experts remember, exercise is not always the best strategy if what we are looking for is to reduce our body mass. “For weight loss, The diet seems to be more effective that physical activity “ Donald Hensrud explainsof the Healthy Life program of the Mayo Clinic. Rather, it is usually considered that, in general, the exercise is more effective when maintaining the weight; While if we want to lose weight, control our diet is usually considered a more effective strategy. Of course this does not mean that we should forget this part, even if only for The positive impact That an active life has in our health. The problem is that we tend to Overbear the impact of exercise and physical activity in general in the caloric consumption that our body performs. Alternatively, we can express it in a different way: we tend to underestimate (or directly to ignore) the enormous caloric consumption that our body performs only by being, to keep ourselves alive throughout our day to day. Some estimates place the relative weight of physical exercise Between 10% and 30% of caloric consumption. Imagine a situation in which physical exercise represents 20% of the calorie expenditure that our body performs. This implies that if we folded the exercise we do (100% more activity), we would only increase the caloric consumption of our body by 20%. Combine strategies Leaving weight loss in the hands of a simple strategy is not usually recommended. Constancy is important and use the Exercise as a complement To the diet when we want to lose weight, it can be helpful in various ways. First and perhaps more important, for being a healthy habit to incorporate in our day to day. Secondly, exercise can make changes in the diet more, “distributing” the effort we put to change towards healthier habits. Since constancy is important, a small help never hurts. Third, the exercise, we pointed out before, is a good way to keep us in our weight. The sooner we get the habit, the better. Walking can help us with these three purposes, so it is a perfect complement if we want to lose weight and want to do it in a healthier way. It is a good complement but is it the best? Walking has the advantage of helping us build Routines without great efforts and minimizing the risk of abandonment; But if what we want is to increase the caloric consumption of our body, for example to be able to resort to less strict diets, there are alternatives that perhaps better adapt to our needs. Finally, it is never worth remembering that each body is different, even our own body changes over the years. Formulas and weight losing recipes are not universal, so it is always useful (when not absolutely necessary) consult with experts who can guide us in the process. In Xataka | Do not tell me your age, tell me your grip strength: how simple gestures tell us how good we are aging Image | Arek In addition

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