Over the past few years, the notion that walking a thousand steps a day has become very important for good health and weight loss.
However, according to a study, walking 10,000 steps a day does not actually prevent weight gain, nor will it lead to weight loss.
To find out if walking thousands of steps really makes a difference, researchers at the Exercise Science Department at Brigham Young University (BYU) teamed up with colleagues from the Department of Nutrition, Dietetics, and Food Science at the College. Conducted a study on new students.
As part of the study, researchers analyzed 120 new entrants during the first six months of college.
They took part in a one-step counting experiment. Participants walked 10,000, 12,000, or 15,000 steps six days a week for 24 weeks.
In addition to the steps, the researchers also calculated the amount and weight of calories consumed by students.
According to the results published in the Journal of Obesity, the number of steps did not stop the students from gaining weight. Even the weight of people who were walking 15,000 steps a day.
On the contrary, the researchers found that the students gained an average of 3.5 pounds after completing this period. During the previous experiments, the first year of the new students in the school had gained the same amount of weight.
The researchers wrote: 'There was a noticeable decrease in attention to weight gain among the groups involved in the step-counting experiment as the physical activity gradually increased with each step and the physical activity increased the energy release and Changes the energy balance.
Of those findings, Bruce Bailey, lead author and professor of exercise science at BYU, concludes: "Exercise alone is not always the most effective way to lose weight."
"If you take steps, it can be beneficial for increasing physical activity, but our study shows that it does not prevent weight gain or stable weight."
However, the researchers did notice that more steps were taken to have an overall positive effect on students' "physical activity routines".
"It can have other emotional and health benefits," he said.
Exercise science professor Billy said: “The biggest benefit of the advice to take more steps is to get people out of a sedentary lifestyle. It is always better for you to take more steps. However, just doing so will not prevent weight gain.
Past studies on the benefits of walking a thousand steps a day have also shown that this technique has no effect on weight and that exercise is often of little benefit."If you take steps, it can be beneficial for increasing physical activity, but our study shows that it does not prevent weight gain or weight gain."
However, the researchers did notice that more steps were taken to have an overall positive effect on students' "physical activity routines".
"It can have other emotional and health benefits," he said.
Exercise science professor Billy said: “The biggest benefit of the advice to take more steps is to get people out of a sedentary lifestyle. It is always better for you to take more steps. However, just doing so will not prevent weight gain.
Past studies on the benefits of walking a thousand steps a day have also shown that this technique has no effect on weight and that exercise is often of little benefit.
How many calories does it burn walking 10000 steps?
Ten thousand steps are approximately equivalent to six kilometers. The average individual burns around three hundred to four hundred calories by walking 10000 steps.
If you walk/step fast or race, you can burn about 400 to 500 calories by walking 10000 steps.
If you walk unhurriedly or stay and go, you may just burn about 150 to 200 calories by walking 10000 steps.
Typically, between 4 pm and 8 pm is the time when the body's metabolism is the most rapid. Walking during this period may burn 100 more calories
This article was originally published in January 2021 in the independent.