14 DAY TRIAL // Most people work on the assumption that, unless one takes up the habit of running over considerable distances or engages in similar high-intensity workout sessions on a fairly regular basis, then that person cannot be labeled as a truly fit individual.
However, a recent investigation carried out by researchers working with the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California has found that walking and running can yield the same health benefits.
There is only one catch: in order for walking to even stand a chance at rivaling running in terms of its ability to lower high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes risk, the person who decides to go for regular strolls has to walk for as much as it takes for their energy expenditure to be the equivalent of that of a runner. Daily Mail quotes researcher Paul T. Williams, who wished to make the following observations:
“The more the runners ran and the walkers walked, the better off they were in health benefits. If the amount of energy expended was the same between the two groups, then the health benefits were comparable.”
“Walking may be a more sustainable activity for some people. However, those who choose running end up exercising twice as much as those that choose walking. This is probably because they can do twice as much in an hour,” Paul T. Williams further argued.
Prior to their reaching the conclusion that walking and running can be equally beneficial to one's wellbeing, the researchers analyzed six years' worth of data concerning the overall health condition of roughly 33,000 runners and 16,000 walkers.
The results were as follows: running reduced high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and coronary heart disease by 4.2%, 4.3%, 12.1% and 4.5%, respectively.
On the other hand, walking reduced said risks by 7.2%, 7%, 12.3% and 9.3%, respectively.
Since the make-up of the groups was fairly different (i.e. the runners were found to be a tad younger than the walkers), the researchers maintain that the results are statistically equivalent.
A detailed account of this research was published in the journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.