Continuous vs Intermittent Walking

One other thing I've noticed about walking is that continuous walking is more beneficial for me than intermittent walking - especially for fat loss.

You would think that "on paper", the calories burned during 60 minutes of walking is the same as two bouts of 30 minutes walking.  But the two protocols do seem to have a different effect on the body, at least for me. 

Some people say that you start burning more fat after 20 minutes of exercise, but I'm not sure I buy that.  Regardless of the mechanism, I believe that continuous walking is better for fat loss than intermittent walking.  Research suggests this is true - this study shows that continuous walking does indeed burn more total calories than intermittent walking.

Comments

[Mike]

I dont disagree with your conclusion

but I found that study VERY unconvincing.
A 3% difference?
And calories estimated using an accelerometer?
I'd be more convinced if we saw
different effects on the body fat % of the two groups.

[Matt Metzgar]

Mike,

I agree the study could have been better. If you look at other studies that focus on body fat, most studies show that multiple bouts are as effective for reducing body fat compared to continuous. In fact, this study suggests short bouts may be better:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?itool=abstractplus&db=pubmed&cmd=Retrieve&dopt=abstractplus&list_uids=9475657

My theory is that continuous is better, but maybe that just works for me individually, and it may not be better for the majority.