What Burns More Calories Walking Or Biking The Same Distance

Walking vs Biking: Which Burns More Calories?

Walking and biking are two popular forms of exercise that offer numerous health benefits, including weight loss. When it comes to calorie burn, both activities can be effective in helping you shed those extra pounds. However, the question remains - which one burns more calories when covering the same distance? Let`s dive deeper into the science behind walking and biking to find out the answer.

The Science Behind Calorie Burn

Calorie burn is the energy expended by our body in order to perform physical activities such as exercising, walking, or even sleeping. The more intense the activity, the more calories will be burned. However, there are other factors that also play a role, such as age, weight, genetics, and metabolism.

One way to measure calorie burn is through metabolic equivalents or METs. METs are a unit of measurement that represents the energy expended during physical activities. For example, sitting quietly has a MET value of 1, while vigorous activities like running have a MET value of 8 or more.

Now let`s compare the MET values of walking and biking.

Walking: Depending on your speed, walking can have a MET value between 2.0-7.0. A leisurely stroll has a MET value of 2.3, while brisk walking has a value of 3.8. Power walking, on the other hand, can have a MET value of 5.0-7.0, depending on your speed.

Biking: Like walking, biking also has various intensities, and thus, different MET values. A leisurely bike ride has a MET value of 4.0, while biking at a moderate pace has a value of 6.8. For more intense biking activities such as mountain biking or cycling uphill, the MET value can go up to 10.0 or more.

Which One Burns More Calories?

Now, let`s put these values into perspective and calculate the calorie burn for both walking and biking the same distance. For this example, we will consider a 30-minute activity covering 3 miles (4.8 km).

For walking at a brisk pace (5 km/h), the average person will burn around 150 calories in 30 minutes. On the other hand, for biking at a moderate pace (15 km/h), the average person will burn around 240 calories in the same amount of time.

This means that biking burns around 60% more calories than walking when covering the same distance. However, it is important to note that these values may vary depending on your age, weight, and intensity of the activity.

Additional Benefits of Walking and Biking

While biking may have a slight edge over walking in terms of calorie burn, both activities offer numerous benefits for our overall health. Let`s take a look at some of the additional benefits of walking and biking:

1. Low Impact: Both walking and biking are low-impact activities, which means they are gentler on your joints compared to high-impact exercises like running. This makes them suitable for people of all ages and fitness levels.

2. Cardiovascular Health: Both activities are excellent for improving your cardiovascular health, reducing the risk of heart diseases and stroke.

3. Mood Booster: Exercise, in general, is known to release feel-good hormones called endorphins, which can help improve your mood and reduce stress and anxiety.

4. Environment-Friendly: Both walking and biking are environmentally friendly ways of transportation that do not contribute to air pollution and help reduce your carbon footprint.

The Verdict

It is safe to say that biking burns more calories than walking when covering the same distance. However, this does not mean that walking is not an effective form of exercise. In fact, walking can be a great way to start your fitness journey and gradually work your way up to more intense activities like biking.

Ultimately, the number of calories burned depends on multiple factors, and it is important to choose an activity that you enjoy and will stick to in the long run. So why not mix things up and include both walking and biking in your exercise routine to reap all the amazing health benefits they have to offer?