Does Walking Burn More Fat Than Running?

Incorporate walking or running into your weight loss workout.

Burn calories, and you will burn fat. Each mile of walking or running burns about 100 calories, according to researchers. However, which activity burns more calories, and therefore fat, depends on several factors.

Speed

The speed at which walking or running burns more calories varies by person. When you walk at increasing paces, the point where it would be easier to run is called your preferred walk-run transition speed (PTS). If you run slower than your PTS, it requires more exertion than walking and you burn more calories. If you walk faster than your PTS, then you burn more calories.

Effort

When you run, you engage more muscles than walking. The extra effort speeds your metabolism and causes you to burn more calories. If you cannot run for a long period of time, alternating between a leisurely pace and a hard pace doubles your endurance and increases your ability to burn fat.

Incline

Running or walking on an incline helps maximize fat burning. Fitness expert Mary Christ Anderson says that if you run on a treadmill at a 15 percent incline you burn 60 percent more calories than running on a flat surface. However, walking at a 15 percent incline burns 150 percent more calories than walking on a flat surface.

References

• Running Planet: Run, Don't Walk
• Healthline: Running vs. Walking: More Calorie Burning
• Fitness: Get a Better Workout On the Treadmill