Walking is probably the easiest and most comfortable physical activity to perform.. You can do it anywhere and at any time; Even so, we always recommend avoiding going for a walk at those times of the day when there are more extreme temperatures. In summer at noon and in winter very early or very late, these would be, from our point of view, the worst moments (although everything has to be individualized).
The only thing that would be needed to go for a walk is comfortable clothes and shoes, since if we go out for a long time, it can cause chafing or pain in our feet.
Walking, for those who want to lose body fat, has also become one of the most recurrent activities. This is due to the low impact it has on the joints and in strength training.
How many steps would it take to have optimal health?
The truth is that in a small amount of physical activity, it can be a first step towards combating a sedentary lifestyle. Walking lightly briskly for periods of 15 to 30 minutes a day can have a significant health benefit.
In 2011, a large number of studies were reviewed regarding the number of daily steps that provide the best results, and the results were the following:
- For children between 4 and 6 years old, a minimum of 10,000 steps a day is recommended
- For boys between 6 and 13 years old, 13,000 steps a day.
- For adolescents between 12 and 19 years old, 10,000 steps a day.
- In adults between 20 and 65 years old, 7,000 steps a day.
- In healthy adults over 65 years of age, 7,000 steps a day.
- In individuals with disabilities or chronic disorders, 6,000 steps per day.
In addition, in all these cases it has been seen that more is better, but to a certain extent.
How many steps does it take to lose body fat?
Although it is true that it would be positive, to take a minimum number of steps, to lose body fat, it would not be necessary to take a single step.
To lose body fat, you simply have to spend more than you are consuming (Within the same expenditure, there is the basal metabolism which, for the vast majority of people, is 60-70% of our daily calories).
Despite this, obviously We do not recommend not walking if you are looking to lose body fat. The less daily physical activity, the less food we can introduce per day. This no longer only has an effect on hunger and satiety, but also on a health level. A person who does not perform daily physical activity and who has to lose body fat, means that in order to meet their goals they have to eat less, causing that, by chance, it does not include all the micronutrients that it needs per day, increasing the chances of suffering from some type of disorder related to eating.
Anxiety levels would also increase. A person who spends the day more hungry than satiated could also generate eating behavior disorders.
Therefore, answering the question of how many steps are necessary, the answer is it depends. It depends on, for example, your type of work. A person who works in a construction site or as a waitress and also does strength training almost every day will not need the same number of steps as a person who has a sedentary job and does not do strength training.
The recommendation, depending on the type of person, could be between 6,000 and 12,000 steps. Firstly for health, as we have mentioned before and, secondly, to be able to introduce the right amount of food so that we do not experience anxiety and introduce all the micronutrients and phytonutrients that are positive for our health.
It is important to mention that walking does not have to be an activity against excesses, that is, if one day you have gone out celebrating or there has been an episode of binge eating, walking more will not make you burn all the calories you have ingested. In addition, on a psychological level, it is not healthy to have these compensatory behaviors, so if you have had a higher intake than normal one day, do not worry and continue with your usual daily habits.
Myths around walking
Localized fat burning in the legs
It has been thought for a long time that performing a specific exercise burns more fat in that area. For example, with the abdominals; It has been denied many times that doing more sit-ups does not make you lose more fat in that area.
With walking, the same thing happens. Walking more is not going to cause you to lose more leg fat. On the contrary, it will cause you to lose more fat, but in a general way.
The more steps you take, the more body fat you will lose.
This is also false. It is thought that the greater the caloric deficit, the more fat will be lost. It partly makes sense, that the greater the difference between calorie intake and expenditure, the more fat you will lose. But keep in mind that in addition to losing body fat, you can also lose muscle mass, so generating a deficit of between 250-400 kcal/day will be more than enough to advance in fat loss.
Walking on an empty stomach makes you lose more fat
Another of the great myths of fitness is that doing cardio on an empty stomach causes you to lose more fat because there are lower levels of insulin. This is false, because even though there are lower levels of insulin, the caloric deficit throughout the day will be the same.
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