Media release

From: The Royal Society

• Wait gains – Taking breaks on your morning walk could help burn more energy. Researchers found that walking or climbing stairs in short 10- to 30-second bouts makes people consume 20 to 60% more oxygen compared to doing it continuously for the same distance. “Thus breaking up sedentary time with brief strolls or taking the stairs can greatly increase energy expended daily and improve health”, the authors said. Proceedings B

Move less, spend more: The metabolic demands of short walking bouts.

Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences

Taking breaks while walking makes you spend more energy. In this experiment, researchers found that walking or climbing stairs in short 10- to 30-second bouts makes people consume 20 to 60% more than doing it continuously for the same distance. Thus, breaking up sedentary time with brief strolls or taking the stairs can greatly increase energy expended daily and improve health. These findings also help quantifying energy use in animals who move intermittently and improving management for people with impaired mobility, who often can move for only few steps. In all cases, moving for shorter bouts can mean spending more!