Walking burn fat

Walking speed does not cause fat oxidation, otherwise known as "fat burning," says a new research.

A new study published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism suggests that walking speed does not cause fat oxidation, otherwise known as "fat burning," to speed up among a group of overweight boys between the ages of 9 and 11.

The study showed that the highest fat and carbohydrate burning occurred at a walking speed of about 2.5 miles per hour. Researchers say that a moderately intense exercise program may be recommended to overweight children as a feasible way to treat childhood obesity.

In the study, researchers compared fat burning rates at different walking speeds among 24 overweight boys with an average body mass index (BMI, a measure of weight in relation to height) of 25.5.

The maximum fat burning rate was found at a moderate walking speed of about 2.5 miles per hour (4 kilometers/hour). Increasing the walking speed to 5 kilometers/hour or 6 kilometers/hour did not substantially increase the fat burning rate.

Although the boys burned more carbohydrates when they increased their walking speed, researchers found the moderate walking pace promoted the highest fat to carbohydrate burning ratio, which is recommended for weight loss.

They added that obesity causes the body to get energy from other sources rather than fat, which causes fat to build up. But exercise stimulates fat burning and helps promote weight loss.

Hence it may be more reasonable to prescribe and encourage low-intensity exercise, which is more feasible and acceptable to obese children, than to insist on more intense exercise programs that may not provide any additional fat-burning benefits.