Energy balance
Substituting 30 minutes of brisk walking for 30 minutes of jogging/running results in weight gain (1.57 kg over 6 years), whereas substituting brisk walking for TV watching or slow walking results in weight loss, demonstrating that the health benefit of an activity depends entirely on what it displaces.
Do not assume that swapping your run for a walk will maintain your weight loss. If you are replacing vigorous exercise with moderate walking, you will likely gain weight. Walking is most effective for weight management when it replaces sedentary behaviors like watching TV, not when it replaces higher-intensity workouts.
whereas 30 minutes/day of brisk walking substituted for 30 minutes/day of jogging/running was associated with weight increase (1.57 kg, 95% confidence interval: 0.33, 2.82), brisk walking was associated with lower weight when substituted for slow walking ((cid:1)1.14 kg, 95% confidence interval: (cid:1)1.75, (cid:1)0.53) and with even lower weight when substituted for TV watching.
Why this rating
Longitudinal observational study (Nurses' Health Study II) with large sample size (n=4,558) and rigorous statistical modeling, though subject to self-report bias.
Source
Isotemporal Substitution Paradigm for Physical Activity Epidemiology and Weight Change
Rania A. Mekary et al. · American Journal of Epidemiology · 2009
DOI 10.1093/aje/kwp163
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