New research from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, led by Dr. Adam Grmmitt, suggests that irregular strides significantly increase a person's metabolic rate, hence burning more calories, as reported by the New York Post.

"I think it would be fair to assume that more frequent and larger variations in stride length would increase your metabolic rate while walking," study author Adam Grimmitt told the outlet. The Daily Mail reported on the study, which examined the effect of uneven gaits on walking metabolism. According to the findings, varying your walking gait may help you burn calories more efficiently than maintaining an exact stride length. "Step length variability plays a modest, albeit significant role in the metabolic cost of walking," declared the researchers.

irregular strides
Image Source: Adam Grant

Under the direction of Dr. Grimmitt, researchers looked at the kinesiology — or movements and at how stride variance affected metabolism. They looked at eighteen 24-year-old, healthy adults who weighed an average of 155 pounds. First, the participants took five minutes to walk at the length of their normal stride on a treadmill.

The participants were then told to walk with steps that varied from their typical stride length by 5% to 10%. To gauge the intensity of the activity, the researchers took measurements of carbon dioxide levels throughout this period.

The main conclusion of the research was a detectable increase in metabolism (1.7%) with a rather moderate increase in stride variability (2.7%). For those who find it difficult to carve out time in their hectic schedules for regular exercise sessions, this news presents interesting opportunities.

Researchers are also looking into how this new information can benefit older populations, more so for energy conservation than calorie burning. "Future studies should quantify foot placement accuracy and muscle activity across similar virtual projections," the researchers noted.

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