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That depends -- are you exercising for a set distance or a set time? If you want to cover three miles running or walking and burn as many calories as possible, walking is the way to go. However, if you have an hour set aside to either walk or run, running will burn more calories. We'd like to tell you we tested this out, but we're born cube jockeys, so we found a page from WebMD instead. The esteemed Dr. Dean Ornish explains that when you run, you burn mostly sugar and carbohydrates. However, when you walk for a long enough distance (walking to the refrigerator doesn't count), "it gives your metabolism time to switch from burning carbohydrates to burning fat." The page goes on to explain
that, like a lot of bodily chores, walking is most effective when it's done consistently (kind of like wearing deodorant). So that settles that, but how do cycling and swimming measure up? According to this graph, cycling burns two to five times fewer calories per mile than either running or walking because it's not a weight-bearing exercise. The benefits of swimming depend a lot on your proficiency and what type of stroke you use. This calorie calculator does a nice job of showing the differences. And keep in mind, if none of these activities sound good, you can always start chewing celery.
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