A calorie can be defined as the energy unit supplied by food, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Your body uses the calories from food to produce energy for bodily functions. However, when you eat more calories than your body needs, the extra calories are stored as fat, and as a result you gain weight. Burn this fat by eating fewer calories and exercising, such as walking or running.
Exercise and Calorie Burning
Your exercise duration, intensity and your body weight all affect to the amount of calories you burn during walking or running. Your exercise intensity has the greatest effect on the amount of calories you burn during the 40 minutes. You can increase your exercise intensity by increasing your workout pace and resistance. The more work you do -- running or walking uphill or using weights -- the more calories you will burn and the more weight you will lose.
Walking for 40 Minutes
Walking is a low-impact exercise but can be a way to burn calories when done with moderate or high intensity. A 130 lb. person walking at 2.5 mph for 40 minutes burns around 120 calories. Increasing your walking pace to 3.5 mph will increase your calorie burn to 160 calories. In addition, walking uphill or while carrying a load will further increase your walking intensity and calorie burn. A 130 lb. person can burn around 250 calories walking uphill at 3.5 mph and 310 calories carrying a 10 to 20 lb. load uphill. Besides your walking intensity, your body weight will have a slight affect on the amount of calories you will burn during your walk. The higher your body weight, the more work your body needs to do to move.
Running for 40 Minutes
Running is also an aerobic activity that improves your cardiovascular system and burns calories. Again, your running intensity plays a huge role in the amount of calories you burn. Generally, you burn considerably more calories when running compared to walking due to the increased work your body is doing. Running at 5 mph for 40 minutes burns around 330 calories for a person weighing 130 lbs. Running at 7 mph burns 475 calories, and running at 8 mph burns around 560 calories.
Calories Vs. Weight Loss
The amount of calories you burn translates to the amount of weight you lose. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, when you create a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories, you will lose 1 lb. of fat. This equals 500 calories per day to lose 1 lb. of fat each week. As long as you are eating a balanced diet, adding running or walking to your weekly routine is a way to increase your body's energy usage and weight loss.
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