Michael Mosley: Number of steps to walk a day to burn fat

Dr Michael Mosley's radical new dieting approach

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While walking isn’t the most strenuous form of exercise, it is very effective for losing weight, and weight loss is Dr Michael Mosley’s speciality. He revealed people should be aiming for a certain amount of steps per day to burn as much body fat as possible.

Walking has a variety of benefits and can help speed up a person’s metabolism, boost their mood and their cognitive function.

During his podcast Just One Thing, the TV doctor explained that 10,000 steps is a good target to hit.

But he added that how and when people get those steps into their day can have a big impact on how beneficial their walk is.

Dr Mosley said: “There are loads of benefits for going for a walk at any time of day or night, but getting out and about in the morning really could have some added benefits.

“It’s about the time you go for your walk and the briskness of your pace.

“The advantage of an early-morning walk is that you get out there and get exposed to light.

“It’ll reset your internal clock and we know that light is a powerful suppressor of melatonin and gets you going.”

Melatonin is a hormone that makes people feel tired and is associated with controlling the sleep-wake cycle.

But by being outside and being exposed to sunlight, people get a serotonin boost that helps improve their mood.

“The briskness seems to be important, too,” Dr Mosley added.

“It’s a good idea to make your walk as brisk as possible because when you do that it increases the impact by about 50 percent.

“You get more benefit if you’re doing more than 100 steps a minute than if you’re doing under.

“If you can aim for 120 there seems to be something optimal about that.”

According to Medical News Today, 10,000 steps works out to roughly five miles of walking.

People interested in walking for weight loss should consistently hit at least 10,000 steps each day.

A study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise showed that when people increased their pace to a run they burned more calories.

But researchers noted that a brisk walk can also burn extra calories and help with weight loss.

A 2017 study conducted by Ulster University also found that walking faster can boost its effectiveness by 20-50 percent.

The eight-week trial involved 50,000 people and their results saw a significant reduction in their risk of cardiovascular disease.

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