Brisk walking is just as good as running for warding off diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. The catch is that walkers have to cover the same distance.
The finding is reported in a new paper. Researchers Paul T. Williams and Paul D. Thompson studied 33,060 participants in the National Runners’ Health Study II and 15,945 walkers in the National Walkers’ Health Study, assessing energy output by distance rather than time spent exercising. Walking was indeed as effective as running–if an equivalent number of calories was expended. And for walkers and runners alike, more exercise meant further reductions in risk of disease.
But expending the same calories took the walkers more time. When exercise was measured by duration rather than distance, running proved more beneficial.