Dr Michael Mosley has confessed that he was 'completely wrong' about a particular form of exercise.
Speaking on his BBC podcast Just One Thing, the health and wellbeing expert, renowned for his 5:2 and Fast 800 eating plans, revealed that Nordic Walking - which involves the use of poles - not only helps to shed more weight and counter heart disease, but also aids in alleviating back pain and serves as a full body workout.
Previously, Dr Mosley had assumed that this type of walking was meant for 'older walkers' who lacked the strength to walk without the aid of poles. However, he clarified: "It turns out I am completely wrong using poles like this actually boosts the intensity of walking, turning it from a walk into a full body workout. Not only does it up the intensity of the walk, but it can lead to greater fitness and weight loss than regular walking.
"Almost anyone can do it. In fact, a recent study showed that Nordic walking is surprisingly good for people with existing heart disease." Dr Mosley has highlighted the benefits of Nordic walking, saying: "Could help you burn more fat without going any further or faster."
He referred to a study where 38 middle-aged individuals were split into two groups for an experiment involving brisk walking three times a week for six months. One group practised Nordic walking, while the other stuck to regular walking. The outcome revealed that although both sets improved their fitness levels, only those using poles experienced a notable decrease in body fat, reports Gloucestershire Live.
He explained: "Why? Well, it is probably because when you are striding out with poles flying, you are engaging almost twice as many muscles involving the muscles of your upper body can also help improve your posture, which is something I badly need to do. Nordic walking can also help with back pain."
Regarding back pain, Dr Mosley mentioned a recent study where 80 people with chronic low back pain were divided into two groups: one took up Nordic walking for an hour, 2 to 3 times a week for four weeks, while the other continued their usual activities. At the end of the study, the Nordic walking group not only reported significant pain reduction but also marked improvements in fitness, strength, flexibility, and a remarkable 23 per cent boost in mental health.
Doctor Jennifer Reed from the University of Ottawa Heart Institute detailed a test run on patients with heart disease, involving one of three exercise programmes carried out several times a week over 12 weeks in a rehabilitation centre. She revealed: "We found that Nordic walking led to greater improvements in functional capacity over the course of the 12-week programme, all of our groups led to improvements in functional capacity, but it was Nordic walking that actually led to a greater improvement.
"Functional capacity is describing activities of daily living activities that you would do during your normal routine day to day that require physical effort. How we measure functional capacity in this trial was by using a six-minute walk test where we asked our participants to walk around an indoor track as quickly as they could for six minutes. And that distance measured at the end of the six minutes represents our measure of functional capacity."
She revealed that the group participating in Nordic walking emerged as the winners, a result which 'surprised' her. She stated: "I think it was effective for a number of reasons. One is that Nordic walking does lead to improvements in strength, upper body, lower body and core muscles.
"Also, there can be an increase in confidence, an improvement in posture that comes with regular use of the Nordic walking poles as well as gait speed of walking. All of those elements likely contributed an improvement in functional capacity following the Nordic walking group."