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Walking for Weight Loss: A Beginner's Guide
Walking is one of the easiest ways to be more active, and it can support weight management. Here’s what the research says it can and can’t do, how much walking helps, and how to start in a way you can keep up.
The short answer
Walking helps you use more energy and can support weight loss, but on its own the effect is usually modest. In studies, people in walking programmes lost around 1 to 1.5 kg over several months without changing their diet.1 Combining regular walking with changes to what you eat works better,3,4 and walking also helps keep weight off and brings health benefits whatever the scale says. Aim to build up to at least 150 minutes of brisk walking a week, and more if you can.5,8
Can walking help you lose weight?
Yes, but it helps to be realistic about how much. A review of 24 controlled trials found that walking programmes reduced weight, body mass index and body fat in previously inactive adults.2 A separate analysis of pedometer-based walking programmes, none of which included diet changes, found an average loss of about 1.3 kg over roughly four months, around 50 grams a week, with longer programmes producing more.1
That is slow, and it’s why walking works best as one part of a plan rather than the whole plan. It is also why the habit matters more than any single walk.
How walking helps
- It uses energy. Your weight changes when the energy you take in and the energy you use are out of balance over time. Activity increases the energy you use.6
- It’s easy to do more of. Walking needs no equipment and is gentle on the joints, so most people can build up to a lot of it, and the amount of activity is what drives results.5
- A brisker pace helps a little. In a large review, higher-intensity exercise led to about 1.5 kg more weight loss than lower-intensity exercise.3 Brisk walking, interval walking and Japanese walking are ways to add intensity without running.
- It helps keep weight off. Staying active is one of the things that help people maintain weight they’ve lost, and some people need more than 150 minutes a week to do so.6,11
Why food matters too
Research is consistent on this point: programmes that combine activity with changes to eating lead to more weight loss than activity alone. In one review, people in combined diet-and-activity programmes lost on average about 5 to 6 kg more than people in activity-only programmes, both at 3 to 6 months and at 12 to 18 months.4 Another found that exercise added to a diet gave about 1 kg more loss than diet alone, with extra benefits for blood pressure and blood fats.3
You don’t need a strict diet. Small, sustainable changes alongside regular walking are a good start, and your doctor, a dietitian or a recognised weight management service can help if you want more support.
How much walking helps?
| Weekly activity | What the evidence suggests |
|---|---|
| Any amount | Some activity is better than none, for health as a whole.7 |
| 150 minutes of moderate activity | The general health recommendation for adults, for example 30 minutes of brisk walking on five days.8,9 |
| 150 to 250 minutes | Linked with modest weight loss on its own.5 |
| More than 250 minutes | Linked with clinically meaningful weight loss and with keeping weight off.5 |
“Moderate” means you can talk but not sing; brisk walking is the classic example.8,12 The minutes don’t have to come all at once: shorter walks spread through the week count too.9
Getting started
- Start where you are. If you’re not walking much now, begin with 10 to 15 minutes on three days a week. Starting with something doable and building gradually is the American Heart Association’s advice too.13
- Add a little each week: a few minutes per walk, or one extra walk. Our 4-week beginner plan sets this out day by day.
- Walk briskly once you’re comfortable, fast enough that you can talk but not sing.12
- Pick fixed times. Walking at the same time and place each day helps it become automatic. See how to build a walking habit.
- Count everyday steps too. Walking to the shops or to work all counts. See how many steps a day for setting a step goal.
- Have a plan for bad days: an indoor walk when it rains, or a 10-minute walk when time is short.
What to expect
- Results differ a lot between people. How much weight changes depends on your starting point, how much you walk, what you eat, your sleep, medicines and more.6
- Weight goes up and down day to day with water and food. Look at trends over weeks, not days.
- Fitness improves first. Walks feel easier and you can go further or faster within weeks, often before the scale moves.
- Consistency beats intensity. Longer walking programmes produced more weight loss than shorter ones.1
Benefits beyond the scale
Even when weight barely changes, regular walking improves fitness and can lower blood pressure.2,3 Being active lowers the risk of heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and several cancers, and helps with sleep, anxiety and mood. Even 10 more minutes a day makes a difference.10
Before you start
Walking is safe for most people. Mova is for adults. It isn't medical advice. If you have a health condition, check with your doctor before you start. Talk to your doctor too if you’ve been inactive for a long time, have a lot of weight to lose, or have joint problems; they can help you decide where to begin.
Sources
- A meta-analysis of pedometer-based walking interventions and weight loss. Richardson CR et al., Annals of Family Medicine, 2008.
- The effect of walking on fitness, fatness and resting blood pressure: a meta-analysis of randomised, controlled trials. Murphy MH et al., Preventive Medicine, 2007.
- Exercise for overweight or obesity. Shaw K et al., Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2006.
- Diet or exercise interventions vs combined behavioral weight management programs: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Johns DJ et al., Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2014.
- Appropriate physical activity intervention strategies for weight loss and prevention of weight regain for adults (ACSM position stand). Donnelly JE et al., Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2009.
- Physical Activity and Your Weight and Health. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour. Bull FC et al., British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2020.
- Physical activity guidelines for adults aged 19 to 64. NHS.
- Adult Activity: An Overview. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Benefits of Physical Activity. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Keep weight off. NHS.
- Walking for health. NHS.
- Every Step Counts. American Heart Association.
