Does Walking the same distance but at different speeds burn roughly the same amount of calories?

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According to a walking calorie calculator I used-

Weight 172lbs Distance walked 1 mile

Pace Duration Calories

Slow (2.5mph) 24 minutes 98

Normal (3mph) 20 minutes 96

Fast (3.5mph) 17 minutes 100

Very Fast (4mph) 15 minutes 102

Even though you burn more calories per minute the quicker you walk, walking slower takes a longer amount of time to travel the same distance so it equals roughly the same amount of calories burned?

Edit: thanks for your responses! I was aware running burns more calories per mile than walking the same distance due placing greater demands on the body/being far less efficient, I was specifically interested in walking speeds alone over the same distances?

Personal anecdote; I’ve managed to lose a significant amount of weight over the past 6 months walking 5 miles daily at a very brisk pace (4-4.5 mph average), today due to fatigue I took it easy, walked a lot slower at 3-3.5mph, felt less fatiguing but obviously took longer amount of time, a good trade off if it means I can walk at a more leisurely pace some days and burn roughly the same amount of calories over the same distance. 🙂

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28 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

For the purpose of your walks, you can consider them to be the same calories burned per distance, the actual variation is negligible for an average person tracking their calories. I have a 3.5 mile walk through the park that I can do in an hour, if I jog I can do it in 30 minutes. Roughly same amount of calories burned, just got it done quicker with a jog. (And yes there are other benefits to running vs walking, but for calorie tracking it’s whatever.)

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