How much energy is expended walking

Next the team calculated the amount of energy that each person used for walking by subtracting the basal metabolic rate energy required to maintain the body's basic metabolic functions from the total metabolic rate measured while walking.

Finally, the team compared the way each person walked, measuring the walkers' stride lengths, stride durations and the proportion of each stride they spent in contact with the ground duty factor to find out if large and small people walk differently.

Analyzing the walkers' styles, the team found that all of them moved in exactly the same way regardless of their height. Essentially, if you scaled a 5 year old up to 2 meters, the giant child would walk in exactly the same way as a 2 meter tall adult.

So large people are not more economical because they walk differently from smaller people. Next the team calculated the metabolic cost of a stride as each walker moved at their most economical pace and they discovered that walkers use the same amount of energy per stride regardless of their height. Scientists knew that shorter people, including children , use up more energy per pound of their body mass when walking than taller people, but they didn't know why.

To find out, Weyand and his colleagues had 48 subjects, ages 5 to 32, walk on a treadmill at speeds varying from 0. The subjects ranged in weight from 35 to pounds The researchers measured how much oxygen the subjects used to calculate their metabolic rate. They also examined they way each subject walked, including their stride length and duration.

The results showed that everyone used about the same amount of energy for each stride they took. You may want to consider keeping a simple log of your walking sessions. Did you walk on a treadmill? Write down your time, distance, and pace in a notebook or an Excel spreadsheet. Looking back on all your steps is a great way to stay motivated. Now you just need to figure out where to walk. Start by trying a loop around your own neighborhood.

Sites like MapMyWalk can help you find routes near you by sharing where other people are walking in your area. You can even download an app that will help you log your miles and stay on track.

Happy trails! Predictions using the ACSM or Leger equations for running, and the Pandolf equation for walking, were similar to the actual energy expenditures for running and walking total error: ACSM: and Conclusion: Running has a greater energy cost than walking on both the track and treadmill.