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Is walking or running better for weight loss?
Running burns more: about 2.2 times as many calories per hour as brisk walking, and about 1.3 times as many per km. For a person of 70 kg (154 lb), 30 minutes of running at 6 mph burns about 290 extra calories against 130 for a brisk walk. But weight loss comes from what you do week after week, and walking is easier to do daily, harder to get injured doing, and for health it gives similar benefits for the same calories burned.
Calories: walking vs running
| Activity | 30 min70 kg | 30 min90 kg | 5 km70 kg | 5 km90 kg |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Walking, moderate5.0 km/h | 100 | 125 | 195 | 255 |
| Walking, brisk6.0 km/h | 135 | 170 | 225 | 285 |
| Jogging, 5 mph8.2 km/h | 265 | 340 | 320 | 410 |
| Running, 6 mph9.9 km/h | 290 | 375 | 295 | 375 |
Per hour, running wins clearly because you cover more ground and each step costs more. Per kilometre the gap is smaller, about 1.3 times brisk walking, and it barely depends on running pace. Compared with everyday, unhurried walking (0.5 calories per kg per km), running costs about 72% more per km. If you have 30 minutes, running burns more; if you have a fixed route, the difference is modest. More detail: calories burned running and calories burned walking a mile.
Which is better for weight loss?
- Short on time: running. Twice the burn in the same 30 minutes.
- Just starting, heavier, or with sore joints: walking. You can do it every day and build up the minutes, and the weekly total can match a few runs.
- Either way, food decides most of it. A 30-minute run burns about 290 extra calories at 70 kg (154 lb), the same as 3 tablespoons of peanut butter; a modest calorie deficit does more than any amount of cardio you'll realistically do (calorie deficit calculator).
Injuries and joints
Running puts two to three times your body weight through your legs with each stride, and injuries are common: studies of distance runners report that between about 1 in 5 and 4 in 5 get a running injury in a year. Walking is gentle enough to do daily. If you want to run, build up slowly: walk-run intervals, no more than about 10% more distance a week.
Health: about the same, for the same calories
In a large study of walkers and runners, the same energy spent walking or running brought similar drops in the risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and heart disease. Walking just takes longer to spend it.
Does running burn more belly fat?
No exercise burns fat from one spot. Both burn fat from all over as part of a calorie deficit; belly fat goes down as your overall body fat does (healthy body fat percentage). What does work: how to lose belly fat.
How to combine them
Walk most days for your steps (how many steps a day is good), and if you enjoy it, add two or three runs or walk-run sessions a week. Adding weights too? See cardio vs weights for weight loss. Work out any walk with the walking calorie calculator, or any other activity with the calories burned calculator.
Sources
- Herrmann SD, Willis EA, Ainsworth BE, et al. 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: A third update of the energy costs of human activities. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 2024;13(1):6-12. doi:10.1016/j.jshs.2023.10.010
- Williams PT, Thompson PD. Walking versus running for hypertension, cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus risk reduction. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 2013;33(5):1085–1091.
- van Gent RN, Siem D, van Middelkoop M, et al. Incidence and determinants of lower extremity running injuries in long distance runners: a systematic review. Br J Sports Med 2007;41(8):469–480.