You can lose weight by brisk walking. But here’s what you need to keep in mind

Brisk walking is considered to be a low-impact aerobic exercise that boosts your energy, and helps in burning excess calories. So when done properly, and combined with a proper diet, it can certainly help with weight loss. 

It’s not just a simple form of exercise, but it is also accessible to most people. Irrespective of age, and physical fitness, everyone who wants to adopt a healthy lifestyle must give it a try.

So how many calories can you burn?

While brisk walking does help to burn calories, the actual number depends on various factors such as your weight, your speed, and obviously the total time. But on an average, if you are 55 kilos and walking at the speed of 4kph, you can burn 165 calories in an hour. And a maximum of 275 calories, when you walk at the speed of 6.4kph. 

And similarly, if you are 68 kilos you will burn a minimum of 204 calories at 4kph speed, and a maximum of 340 calories with 6.4kph in an hour. If you are on the heavier side, let’s say 82 kilos, then at a speed of 4kph, you can burn 246 calories in an hour, which is not bad at all! 

An average person walks at a speed of 3kph, so the faster you walk, and the more you weigh, determines the actual number of calories burned. This report was published in Compendium of Physical Activities.

Also, read: Here are the 5 benefits of reverse walking that will make you a fan

Science proves it too!

In a study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine, it was reported that 11 moderate-weight women lost an average of 7.7 kg or about 10% of their body weight after 6 months of continuous brisk daily.

Another study published in the Journal of Exercise Nutrition and Biochemistry noted that obese women who walked three days per week for about 50 to 70 minutes lost about 2.7 kg over a period of 12 weeks! So, you see the results are astonishing and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t try brisk walking.

So, the verdict is yes, brisk walking does help in burning calories and losing weight, so if you like this activity, you must totally continue doing it. However, if you want to make it more effective, then try walking uphill or increase your speed.