Скачать или смотреть Bend It with Dr Ben: Walking vs Running — Which Burns More Fat?

This is Dr Ben here, and I’ve got a question here: which burns more fat — walking or running?

Quick answer: walking burns a higher percentage of fat, but running often burns the same or more total fat because running burns far more calories overall.

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A lot of people tell me, “Doctor, I heard walking burns more fat because it’s in the fat-burn zone.” You see this everywhere online, but the real story is more balanced.

Here’s the clear explanation.
Walking is low intensity, so your body relies more on fat as its fuel percentage. But because your total calorie burn per minute is low, the total fat burned stays modest.
Running is higher intensity, so your body shifts more toward glycogen. The fat percentage drops — but because running burns so many more calories per minute, the total fat burned often equals or exceeds that of walking.

Now the science.
A controlled study in the Journal of Applied Physiology measured fat and glycogen use at different intensities using oxygen analysis. Exercise studies can’t be double-blind — people know when they’re exercising — but the setup was tightly standardised.

The findings were consistent:
• Low intensity → higher fat percentage, lower total fat burned
• High intensity → lower fat percentage, higher total fat burned

The researchers concluded that both walking and running reduce fat effectively, and the key factor is total fat burned over time, not the moment-to-moment fuel ratio.

They also emphasised that the “fat-burn zone” is simply a fuel-mix concept. It does not determine long-term fat loss. You still burn fat outside that zone — the mix just changes.

Here is the practical guide to roughly equalise fat burn:
Most people will burn a similar total amount of fat with:
• 20–30 minutes of brisk walking, or
• 10–15 minutes of running,
because running pushes up total calorie burn so much.

So which is better? It depends on your time, your joints, and your preference. Walking is gentle and sustainable. Running compresses the same fat-burn benefit into fewer minutes. Both are great choices.

So just to recap the question: which burns more fat — walking or running?
Quick answer: walking uses more fat proportionally, but running often burns more fat in total because the calorie burn is so much higher.

Bend It Factor: 7.5 out of 10.

Take-home tip:
If you walk, keep a pace where you can talk but not sing.
If you run, choose a pace that challenges you without compromising your form.

This is Dr Ben, signing off. Stay well, stay curious, and keep bending those health truths until they finally make sense.

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