Should you be walking or running?

How often do you walk or run?

I do a mixture of walking and running each week but I am often unsure about which one is more beneficial for me. Let’s use biology to compare walking and running!

Both walking and running provide many benefits to the human body such as increasing cardiovascular fitness, strengthening bones, reducing body fat and improving endurance (1).

But does one provide more health benefits than the other?

Walking is a great aerobic exercise. The NHS states just a daily 10 minute brisk walk (3 miles per hour) can be incredibly beneficial (2). But even a slower longer walk (about an hour) can provide similar health benefits as well as improving your mental health. Harvard medical school points out research that shows how walking regularly counteracts the effect of weight promoting genes (cutting the effect of them by half (3)), reduces the risk of breast cancer, easing joint pain, boosting immune function. Studies at the University of Exeter have even shown walking suppresses sugar cravings (3)!

What about the benefits running provides? Could running be better than walking?

Similar to walking, running provides health benefits like improved cardiovascular and lung health, as well as increasing joint strength, reducing likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes and improves feelings of anxiety, depression, etc (4).

Ultimately the health benefits walking and running provide are quite similar. So how could you determine which one you should be doing?

Running can be problematic for people with joint issues, as it is a higher impact sport than walking. Therefore, for elderly people or individuals with joint issues walking might be more realistic and beneficial as the likelihood of injury is lower.

For other individuals a combination of walking and running is ultimately the best exercise strategy (then you can get the best of both worlds)!

But don’t be diswayed from walking, it’s a highly effective and underestimated exercise!

Reference:

1. https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/walking-for-good-health#:~:text=Just%2030%20minutes%20every%20day,diabetes%2C%20osteoporosis%20and%20some%20cancers.

2. https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/exercise/running-and-aerobic-exercises/walking-for-health/

3. https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/5-surprising-benefits-of-walking

4. https://www.nhsinform.scot/healthy-living/keeping-active/activities/running