Walking in short bursts found to consume 20% to 60% more energy than walking continuously for same distance

A team of pathophysiologists at the University of Milan has found that climbing stairs or walking for short bursts allows people to consume 20% to 60% more energy than if they do the same activity nonstop for the same distance. In their study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the group asked volunteers to walk on a treadmill or climb stairs while also monitoring their oxygen intake.

The research team noted that available reported energy expenditures tend to reflect activities that are done at a metabolically steady state, which only becomes established after performing such an activity for a while. They wondered if there might be differences in expenditures if people engaged in start-and-stop-type exercise multiple times. To find out, they recruited 10 volunteers.

The volunteers walked on a treadmill or climbed a short flight of stairs for different lengths of time, ranging from 10 seconds to four minutes. As they did so, they wore a mask to measure their oxygen intake, a means of measuring energy consumption.

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The researchers found that the volunteers used more energy if they started and stopped multiple times compared to engaging in a steady, longer-duration activity, as they covered the same amount of ground.

The researchers explain that the reason for this is that the body uses more energy gearing up for an activity and getting into a good pace than it does once steadiness is achieved. They liken it to a car using more gas as it works to get up to speed from an idle position.

Further testing showed that exercising in multiple short bouts rather than a single longer one led to increases in energy consumption of 20% to 60%.

The team suggests that people who wish to get more out of their exercise routines perform multiple short bursts of activity rather than carrying on for long periods of time at a steady pace.

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