ITU/SFL PROFICIENCY EXAM July 28, 2016

SESSION II

Listening – Note Taking Text

Walking and Fat Loss

Hello. I am a professor in the Sports and Physical Education Department at Liverpool University. Today I will talk about
walking as exercise. But let me give you some brief information about obesity first. Obesity is considered one of the leading
public health problems in the world. Worldwide obesity has nearly doubled since 1980. Now, 40 percent of adults and 12
percent of children are considered to be obese. Only 20 percent of adults were obese before 1980, but the rate climbed so
dramatically that the rate of obese adults has increased to 40 percent. So, with obesity increasing dramatically in recent
years, many fitness experts are recommending walking for weight loss and fitness. Some are even going so far as saying
that walking is the best way to burn fat and lose weight. I will talk about why it is actually not effective at burning off body fat.
But before that, let me start with the definite benefits of walking.

It is true that walking has several benefits. First of all, it prevents various diseases such as Alzheimer and diabetes. Walking
can even reduce your risk of catching a cold. Researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School found that
people who walked every day had 25 percent fewer colds than those who were sedentary or inactive. Because walking is a
weight-bearing exercise, it can also help prevent bone diseases. Studies show that the bones of people who walk regularly
grow stronger just like their muscles. Best of all, walking puts you in a better mood, so feeling good about yourself is another
important benefit. As you see, walking does have many benefits, but unfortunately weight loss is not one of them.

Let me continue with why walking isn’t the best choice when it comes to fat loss. There are three main reasons. Firstly,
walking does not burn a lot of calories. The lower the intensity of the activity or exercise, the smaller the number of calories
burned per unit of time. For example, you can burn more calories in 10 minutes of cycling at a high intensity level than you
can in 45 minutes of easy walking. That’s right. The calories you burn when you bike intensely for 10 minutes are higher
than when you walk for 45 minutes.

Secondly, walking does not result in a large increase in metabolism. Because walking is generally low intensity, it results in
only a small increase in metabolism only lasting approximately 1-2 hours after the walk. On the other hand, metabolism
increases are larger and last longer when you perform high intensity workouts. Unlike walking, which only affects your
metabolism for an hour or two, high intensity workouts have a much longer effect on your metabolism rate. In fact, they
affect it for four hours or more.

Finally, walking has a limited effect on appetite. Researchers at the University of Wyoming compared the self-selected
meals consumed following running and walking. Their findings indicated that runners consumed 500 fewer calories than the
control group at rest, whereas walkers consumed only 150 fewer calories than the resting group. Though walking provided
some reduction in appetite, more intense exercise had a greater effect on appetite hormones and decreased consumption
more.  So, walking is not advantageous because it has a little effect on appetite and doesn’t reduce  it as much as running
does.

So what should you do then if your main objective is to shed those excess pounds of body fat? The first thing you should do
is to perform some form of high intensity workout 2-4 times per week. High intensity exercises such as running, biking, rope
jumping, and swimming are much more effective in burning off excess body fat. In fact, several studies have been done to
prove this. In one study conducted at Liverpool University, one group who walked for 45 minutes was compared with
another group who swam for 15 minutes for one month. They did before and after fitness testing including body fat analysis
and found that the swim group lost nine times as much body fat.

If more proof is required, compare the bodies of a walker and a sprinter who runs over a short distance at top speed. If you
are not familiar with what a sprinters body looks like, picture Usain Bolt, who is one of the top sprinters. His body is very
ITU/SFL PROFICIENCY EXAM July 28, 2016
SESSION II

muscular and has little body fat. On the other hand, the body of a walker will likely be the opposite, little muscle and more
fat.

I know some of you by now are saying "I can't do high intensity exercise, I have a bad knee". Don't worry. I have two
solutions for those who don’t want to do high intensity exercise. You can make any exercise intense by first increasing your
speed. When you boost your speed while exercising, you will burn more energy and more calories. The second solution is
interval training. Let me tell you what interval training is. It is a type of training that consists of alternating periods of high and
low intensity activity. Moving from a high intensity exercise to a low intensity one will allow you to get used to high intensity
exercises and burn fat faster. Therefore, interval training is a good idea if you want to intensify your workout.

The second thing you should do is to follow a low carbohydrate diet and my suggestion is the South Beach diet. The South
Beach is a diet that restricts foods high in carbs, including bread, sugary foods and even fruit. It emphasizes foods with
protein and fat, as well as healthy vegetables. Foods high in easily digestible carbohydrates such as sugar and bread are
replaced with foods containing a higher percentage of fats and moderate protein and other foods low in carbohydrates
like vegetables are also allowed. 

The first advantage of the South Beach diet is that it causes you to  want to eat less. Even without counting calories most
overweight people eat far fewer calories on a low carb diet. Sugar and bread may increase your hunger, avoiding them may
decrease your appetite to an adequate level. Secondly, a 2012 study showed that people on the South Beach diet  burned
300 more calories a day – while resting! According to one of the Harvard professors behind the study this advantage “would
equal the number of calories typically burned in an hour of moderate-intensity physical activity”. Imagine that: an entire
bonus hour of exercise every day, without actually doing it. Finally, a large percentage of the fat lost on South Beach diet
tends to come from the harmful belly fat that is known to cause serious metabolic problems. Studies have shown that low-
carb diets help get rid of the fat in the belly area, around the organs and in the liver.

Although walking has some benefits, it is not particularly effective at burning body fat and if your goal is fat loss, you might
be wasting your time. If fat loss is your primary goal, consider my suggestions. Thank you for listening.
ITU/SFL PROFICIENCY EXAM July 28, 2016
SESSION II

NOTE-TAKING GUIDE
Take notes using the headings below while listening to the lecture called Walking and Fat Loss. You will hear the lecture
ONLY ONCE.

Statistics regarding obesity

Benefits of walking

Reasons why walking isn’t the best choice to lose weight

1.

2.

3.
ITU/SFL PROFICIENCY EXAM July 28, 2016
SESSION II

What to do to lose excess body fat

1. _________________________

Study conducted at Liverpool University

A walker vs a sprinter

Usain Bolt: A worldwide

famous sprinter
Solutions for making an exercise more intense

2. Follow the South Beach diet

The advantages of the South Beach diet

a)

b)

c)