Walking & Weight Loss

Studies have shown that walking often and briskly may double weight loss. Long-distance walking on a daily basis may take off twice the weight and result in greater loss of fat mass than standard cardiac rehabilitation in overweight heart patients, researchers say.

In the study, researchers at the University of Vermont randomized 74 overweight cardiac rehab patients whose average age was 64 to either a high-caloric expenditure exercise regimen, aimed at burning 3,000 to 3,500 calories a week by walking almost daily, or to standard therapy, burning 700 to 800 calories a week, exercising three times per week.

Shedding weight on a daily basis called for walking 45-60 minutes at a moderate pace — a lower speed than standard therapy — for five to six days per week.

The standard rehab called for walking, biking, or rowing for 25-40 minutes at a brisker pace, but only three times per week.

Five months into the study, the researchers compared the two groups and found that patients doing the daily walking had:

• Significantly greater improvement in 10 heart risk factors, including insulin sensitivity.
• A greater average reduction in weight, 18 pounds compared to 8 pounds in the standard rehab group. Walkers lost 13 pounds in body fat compared to 6 pounds for those in the standard group. And walkers’ waistlines shrunk by 2.7 inches, compared to 2 inches for the standard rehab group.

Being overweight increases the risk of heart attacks and is associated with diabetes, hypertension, and high cholesterol. Standard rehab has benefits, but the high calorie-burning regimen increases benefits, Ades says, adding that the study’s message is “walk often and walk far.”

But he doesn’t recommend that every heart patient who’s overweight hit the streets — not until first discussing their plans with their doctors.  A significant finding, and probably the most important one, was the improvement in walking patients’ insulin sensitivity as well as in multiple markers of heart disease risk (other than weight), when compared to the standard rehab participants.

The researchers’ conclusion is unequivocal: “High calorie-expenditure exercise is superior to standard [cardiac rehabilitation] exercise in accomplishing weight loss and favorably altering cardiometabolic risk factors, particularly insulin resistance, in overweight patients with [coronary heart disease].”

The drop down menus of the Walking & Weight Loss page (walk2bfit.com/blog) features many great tips on walking to lose weight.  If you have a question about weight loss, walking, sports injuries, foot care, diabetes foot care, etc. just ask!  The Walk2bFit  ‘Just Ask’ panel consists of doctors, chiropractors, pedorthists, certified athletic trainers and beauty and skin experts available to answer your questions on walking to be fit.