Walking vs Running

Choosing between walking and running for daily exercise can present a dilemma. Here’s one certainty: Both activities have an abundance of benefits for your body.

Each one improves your cardiovascular health and reduce the risk of serious diseases such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes. That’s because walking or running promotes weight loss, decreases blood pressure and lowers cholesterol.

Walking can offer the most benefits for people who are in the beginning stages of improving their fitness. A person who is significantly overweight or suffers from health problems may find it easier to incorporate walking into their daily activities. Walking puts less stress on the body than running and it offers a starting point where a person can eventually build up to running if they choose.

Walking, like running, is an activity you can do virtually anywhere during any time of the year. All you need to get started are comfortable exercise clothes, shoes that offer cushioning and support to your feet and enough water to stay hydrated during the walk.

One advantage walking has over running is the risk for injury is far smaller. Running is a high-impact exercise. Your feet repetitively strike hard surfaces with force as you run. Even if your fitness level is at an optimal level, running can still cause injuries to the hips, knees, shins and ankles.

Running does have a greater benefit if you are trying to lose weight. Walking does burn more fat cells than running. On the other hand, running consumes more calories than walking over the same time and distance – leading to faster weight loss.

You can’t go wrong with either choice. Ultimately, it rests on which exercise is best for your level of fitness and your health.