There is a common saying going around that you burn just as many calories walking a mile as you do running a mile. I’ve heard this countless times and due to the repetition, have come to believe it. However, it seems that this is just another fitness myth propagated down from semi-experts to the masses. A recent study at Syracuse University found that men burned 124 calories while running and only 88 calories while walking at the same distance. The corresponding numbers for women were 105 and 74 because they happened to weigh less. So what exactly causes this distinction between running and walking?
When you walk, you keep your legs mostly straight, and your center of gravity rides along fairly smoothly on top of your legs. In running, we actually jump from one foot to the other. Each jump raises our center of gravity when we take off, and lowers it when we land, since we bend the knee to absorb the shock. This continual rise and fall of our weight requires a tremendous amount of Newtonian force (fighting gravity) on both takeoff and landing.
The researchers also provided us with a handy equation (see below) that we can use to determine exactly how many calories we expend as a factor of our weight, distance jogged, and intensity. Next time guys, try not to be so gullible, ok?
Running: .63 x your weight x miles = net calories burned
Walking: .30 x your weight x miles = net calories burned
