Running vs. Walking: Which Is Better for Lasting Health?
跑步与走路：哪种对持久健康更有益？

Walking is among the world’s most popular forms of exercise, and far and away the most favored in the United States. And for good reason: It’s simple, accessible and effective. Taking regular walks lowers the risk of many health problems including anxiety, depression, diabetes and some cancers.
步行是世界上最受欢迎的锻炼形式之一，也是美国最受欢迎的锻炼方式。理由很简单：它简单、易于接触且有效。定期散步可以降低许多健康问题的风险，包括焦虑、抑郁、糖尿病和一些癌症。

However, once your body becomes accustomed to walking, you might want to pick up the pace, said Alyssa Olenick, an exercise physiologist and postdoctoral research fellow in the energy metabolism lab at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus.
然而，一旦你的身体习惯了走路，您可能会想要加快步伐，阿丽莎·奥莱尼克（Alyssa Olenick）说，她是科罗拉多大学安舒茨医学院能源代谢实验室的运动生理学家和博士后研究员。

If you can nudge even part of your walk into a run, it offers many of the same physical and mental benefits in far less time. But just how much better is running? And how can you turn your walk into a run?
如果你能把走路的一部分转变为跑步，它在更短的时间内提供了许多相同的身体和心理好处。但跑步到底好多少呢？你又如何才能把走路变成跑步呢？

Why Walking Is Good for You
走路对你有好处

When considering the health benefits of an activity like walking or running, there are two connected factors to keep in mind. One is the workout’s effect on your fitness — that is, how it improves the efficiency of your heart and lungs. The second is the ultimate positive outcome: Does it help you live a longer life?
在考虑像步行或跑步这样的活动的健康益处时，有两个相关因素需要牢记。一个是锻炼对你的健康的影响——即它如何提高你心肺的效率。第二个是最终的积极结果：它是否能帮助你活得更长？

The gold standard for assessing fitness is VO2 max, a measure of how much oxygen your body uses when you’re exercising vigorously. It’s also a strong predictor of life span, said Dr. Allison Zielinski, a sports cardiologist at Northwestern Medicine Bluhm Cardiovascular Institute.
评估体能的金标准是 VO2 max，它衡量的是你在剧烈运动时身体使用的氧气量。西北医学布鲁姆心血管研究所的运动心脏病专家艾莉森·齐林斯基博士表示，它也是寿命的强有力预测指标。

Even doing a small amount of activity — like taking slow steps throughout the day — somewhat improves VO2 max compared with staying completely sedentary, according to a 2021 study of 2,000 middle-aged men and women. But bigger benefits come when you begin walking faster, which raises your heart and breathing rates.
根据 2021 年对 2000 名中年男女的研究，即使进行少量活动——例如整天慢步行走——与完全不动坐着相比，也能在一定程度上改善 VO2 最大摄氧量。但是，当你开始加快步伐时，获得的好处更大，这会提高你的心率和呼吸频率。

If you’re working hard enough that you can still talk but not sing, you’ve crossed from light to moderate physical activity. Studies suggest that moderate activity strengthens your heart and creates new mitochondria, which produce fuel for your muscles, said Dr. Olenick.
如果你工作得足够努力，以至于你能说话却不能唱歌，那你就从轻度活动过渡到了中度活动。奥莱尼克博士表示，研究表明中度活动可以增强你的心脏，并产生新的线粒体，线粒体为你的肌肉提供燃料。

What Makes Running Even Better
跑步更出色的原因

So how does running compare with walking? It’s more efficient, for one thing, said Duck-chul Lee, a professor of physical activity epidemiology at Iowa State University.
那么跑步与走路相比如何呢？首先，它更有效率，爱荷华州立大学的身体活动流行病学教授 Duck-chul Lee 说。

Why? It’s more than the increased speed. Rather than lifting one foot at a time, running involves a series of bounds. This requires more force, energy and power than walking, Dr. Olenick said.
为什么？这不仅仅是速度的增加。与一步一步抬起一只脚不同，跑步涉及一系列的跳跃。这比走路需要更多的力量、能量和动力，奥雷尼克博士说。
For many people first starting out, running at any pace — even a slow jog — will make your heart and lungs work harder. That can raise your level of effort to what’s known as vigorous activity, meaning you’re breathing hard enough that you can speak only a few words at a time.
对于许多人来说，刚开始时以任何速度跑步——即使是慢跑——都会使心肺负担加重。这可能会将你的努力程度提高到所谓的剧烈活动水平，意味着你呼吸得很急，一次只能说出几个词。

Federal health guidelines recommend 150 minutes to 300 minutes per week of moderate-intensity aerobic activity, like brisk walking, or half as much for vigorous activity. That might suggest that running is twice as good as walking.
联邦健康指南建议每周进行 150 分钟到 300 分钟的中等强度有氧运动，如快走，或进行一半时间的高强度活动。这可能暗示跑步的效果是快走的两倍。
But when it comes to the key outcome of longevity, some studies have found running to be even more effective than that.
但当谈到长寿这一关键结果时，一些研究发现跑步甚至比那更有效。

In 2011, researchers in Taiwan asked more than 400,000 adults how much vigorous exercise (like jogging or running) and moderate exercise (like brisk walking) they did. They found that regular five-minute runs extended subjects’ life spans as much as going for 15-minute walks did. Regular 25-minute runs and 105-minute walks each resulted in about a 35 percent lower risk of dying during the following eight years.
2011 年，台湾的研究人员询问了超过 400,000 名成年人他们进行多少剧烈运动（如慢跑或跑步）和中等运动（如快走）。他们发现，定期进行五分钟的跑步延长了受试者的寿命，效果与进行 15 分钟的步行相同。定期进行 25 分钟的跑步和 105 分钟的步行在随后的八年中，各自减少了约 35%的死亡风险。

Those numbers make sense, given running’s effect on fitness. In a 2014 study, Dr. Lee and his colleagues found that regular runners — including those jogging slower than 6 miles per hour — were 30 percent fitter than walkers and sedentary people. They also had a 30 percent lower risk of dying over the next 15 years.
考虑到跑步对健康的影响，这些数字是合理的。在 2014 年的一项研究中，李博士及其同事发现，定期跑步的人——包括慢于每小时 6 英里慢跑的人——比步行和久坐的人健康 30%。他们在接下来的 15 年内的死亡风险也降低了 30%。

Even though he’s an enthusiastic proponent of running, Dr. Lee suggested looking at walking and running as being on a continuum. “The biggest benefit occurs when moving from none to a little” exercise, he said.
尽管他是跑步的热情支持者，李博士建议把步行和跑步视为一个连续体。他表示：“最大的好处发生在从没有到一点点”的锻炼。

Whether you’re walking or running, consistency matters most. But after that, adding at least some vigorous exercise to your routine will increase the benefits.
无论你是在走路还是跑步，一致性是最重要的。但在此之后，在你的日常活动中增加至少一些剧烈运动将会提高益处。

How to Start Walking, and Then Running
如何开始走路，然后跑步

Running does have its downsides. It’s high-impact and hard on your connective tissue.
跑步确实有其缺点。它对关节和肌腱是高强度的，可能会对身体造成伤害。

Researchers have debunked myths that running will always wreck your knees, but short-term injuries are more common in runners than walkers. Easing into walking first allows your body time to adapt, which in turn reduces risk, said Dr. Bella Mehta, a rheumatologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.
研究人员揭穿了跑步总是会损坏膝盖的神话，但短期伤害在跑步者中比在步行者中更常见。纽约特殊外科医院的风湿病学专家贝拉·梅塔博士表示，先从步行开始可以让身体有时间适应，从而降低风险。

In fact, even experienced runners who take a break should gradually build back up. “It’s always better to start or increase an exercise program by going slow and low,” Dr. Zielinski said.
事实上，即使是有经验的跑步者在休息后也应该逐渐恢复。 "开始或增加一个锻炼计划时，慢慢来、低强度总是更好，" Zielinski 博士说。

If you want to try running for the first time — or return to it — try this progression.
如果你想第一次尝试运行——或者返回尝试——可以试试这个进程。

Step 1: Add steps.  第 1 步：添加步骤。

Increase your step count, Dr. Lee said. If you haven’t been exercising at all, begin by trying for an extra 3,000 walking steps per day, at least a few days per week.
增加你的步数，李医生说。如果你完全没有运动，首先可以尝试每周至少几天每天多走 3000 步。

Step 2: Slowly pick up the pace.
第 2 步：慢慢加快节奏。

Set aside 10 minutes for brisk walking three to four times per week, Dr. Olenick said. Aim for an effort level of three to five on a scale of 10. Gradually increase the duration, until you can stay on your feet for an hour.
奥莱尼克博士说，每周安排三到四次，每次 10 分钟的快走。目标努力程度为 10 分中的 3 到 5 分。逐渐增加持续时间，直到你能站立一个小时。

Step 3: Sprinkle in running.
步骤 3：加入跑步。

As you gain fitness, you’ll notice you must walk even faster to reach moderate intensity. Once this happens — usually after about a month or two — start adding in run-walk intervals. Warm up with a five-minute brisk walk.
随着你体能的提高，你会发现为了达到中等强度，你必须走得更快。一旦发生这种情况——通常在一个月或两个月后——开始加入跑步-走路的间歇训练。以五分钟的快走作为热身。
Then alternate a minute of jogging with three minutes of walking. Repeat this three to five times through.
然后交替进行一分钟的慢跑和三分钟的走路。重复三到五次。

Step 4: Try running continuously.
步骤 4：尝试持续运行。

Each week or two, increase your running interval and decrease your walking time, until you’re running continuously.
每周或每两周，增加你的跑步间隔并减少你的走路时间，直到你能持续跑步。

Check with your doctor first if you’re being treated for heart disease or another chronic condition, or if you have symptoms like chest pain, Dr. Zielinski said. You might need to undergo a stress test or other evaluation before being cleared to do vigorous activity.
首先如果你正在接受心脏病或其他慢性病的治疗，或者如果你有胸痛等症状，请先咨询医生，Zielinski 博士说。在被允许进行剧烈活动之前，你可能需要接受压力测试或其他评估。

Those who can’t run (or don’t want to) can turn up the intensity in other ways, Dr. Olenick said. For instance, add a few hills to your walking route, and push the pace as you climb them. You could jump on a trampoline or try a HIIT workout, on land or in the pool.
那些无法跑步（或不想跑步）的人可以通过其他方式提高强度，奥伦尼克博士说。例如，可以在步行路线中加入一些坡道，并在攀爬时加快步伐。你还可以跳上蹦床或尝试 HIIT 训练，无论是在陆地上还是在泳池中。

Best of all is to mix and match — brisk walking or other moderate-intensity exercise on some days, vigorous workouts on others, taking more steps on days when you can’t squeeze in a workout.
最好的方法是灵活组合——在某些日子进行快走或其他中等强度的锻炼，在其他日子进行剧烈锻炼，在无法挤出时间锻炼的日子多走几步。

“Get a little bit of everything” each week if you can, Dr. Olenick said. “It all adds up.”
“如果可以，每周都要‘尝试一点点各种东西’，奥伦尼克博士说。‘这一切都累积起来了。’”

Cindy Kuzma is a journalist in Chicago and a co-author of “Breakthrough Women’s Running: Dream Big and Train Smart.”
辛迪·库兹马是芝加哥的一名记者，也是《突破女性跑步：梦想大，训练聪明》的联合作者。