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Walk to Drop Weight

Michael Hunter, MD
3 min readDec 26, 2019

Aim for 30 to 60 minutes, as quickly as you reasonably can.

Photo by Jonas Weckschmied on Unsplash

A reader recently observed that they never lose weight with merely walking. As a cancer specialist, I often recommend that my patients aim for one hundred and fifty minutes per week of the equivalent of a brisk walk. For example, try to do a minimum of thirty minutes daily, five days per week (with minimum ten-minute intervals) if achievable. This approach leads to a lower probability of getting several cancers and a myriad of other health benefits.

Today, I want to chat with you about whether hitting the treadmill (or better yet, walking outdoors) can facilitate weight loss. We begin with a look at various intensities of walking and the number of calories burned, before offering a response to the reader’s observation about treadmill use and weight loss.

Walk to Burn More Than 120 Calories in 30 Minutes

Walking at a reasonable 3.5 miles per hour pace burns about 120 calories in thirty minutes, at least for a one hundred and twenty-five-pound person. A heavier individual will burn more calories; for example, a one hundred and eighty-five-pound person will burn one hundred and seventy-eight calories doing the same activity. This will not add up to significant weight loss; however, burning one hundred and twenty calories leads to a loss of about half an ounce of fat. In…

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Michael Hunter, MD
Michael Hunter, MD

Written by Michael Hunter, MD

I have degrees from Harvard, Yale, and Penn. I am a radiation oncologist in the Seattle area. You may find me regularly posting at www.newcancerinfo.com

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