Walking and Stair Climbing Better For Weight Loss

Walking and Stair Climbing Better For Weight Loss

When the topic of losing weight comes around, people tend to agree that diet and exercise is one of the best ways to lose weight naturally. However, it can be difficult to choose what type of exercise is best for you. In fact, you don’t even need expensive equipment or a trip to the gym to lose weight. A recent study conducted by the American Journal of Health Promotion, shows that activities like climbing stairs and walking farther from the bus stop can boost your weight loss.

Short Bursts of Physical Activity

The study was looking at the benefits of short bursts of activity, such as by walking or taking the stairs. This included having the participants of the study getting off their bus a few stops too early and walking the rest of the way to work or school, or by taking the stairs instead of an elevator inside buildings. They also encouraged parking further away from entrances at stores or malls, which required a few extra minutes of walking a day, and no more in most cases.

The Study

The study was performed by scientists and researchers at the American Journal of Health Promotion. It had participants that were at the obese body mass index (BMI) level or higher. For each participant, their BMI was recorded, which takes into account their height and weight ratio. The result looked at the fact that women had a particularly positive result, with just one minute of sudden burst of activity every day, reducing their BMI by about 0.07.

Results

From this study, researchers reported that just by taking the stairs instead of escalators or elevators, someone could lose about a half pound of weight. This is only 1-2 minutes of extra activity every day, depending on the amount of stairs. The results showed that for obese people, it was only an increase of 5 percent of physical activity for women and 2 percent of activity for men. Men and women had their activities monitored, with women showing slightly less physical activity than the men. Researchers want to make it clear it doesn’t fulfill the guidelines for physical activity, but the little bursts helped their overall health. It improved the risk for type II diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease; diseases all caused or worsened by obesity and lack of exercise.

This study proves that on days when you can’t make it to the gym or get your minimum of 30 minutes a day in physical activity, just walking a little more or opting for the stairs is great for your health.