Shop till you drop: if you want to lose weight just visit intu Trafford Centre

Most people don’t usually associate shopping with exercise. But one aspect of shopping which can be benefit our health is walking.

Walking contributes towards good cardiovascular health, is a weight-bearing exercise which is beneficial for our bones, and can lower the risk of chronic illness.

And, like any other physical activity, walking burns calories. Typically, someone who weighs 11 stone will burn between four and five calories per minute walking at an average speed.

It may not which may not sound like much but it quickly adds up the more hours you put in. The more active you are, the easier it is for you to maintain a healthy weight, or to create a calorie deficit if you’re trying to lose weight.

Brisk walking counts as moderate-intensity physical activity. According to NHS guidelines, to stay healthy, adults aged 19-64 should try to be active daily and should do at least 150 minutes of moderate aerobic activity such as cycling or fast walking every week. That’s 20-30 minutes a day.

With this in mind, Dr Wayne Osborne at medical blog Treated.com compared the 10 largest shopping centres in the UK, to see how many steps and calories it would take to complete a walking circuit of the main plaza in each.

Shopping centres can vary significantly in size and shape. Some plazas may even be several miles long, and provide ample opportunity for someone to increase their step count.

So which shopping centres around the UK are the best for burning off calories?

intu Trafford Centre is the second biggest shopping centre in the UK. The main plaza is 3 miles long and would take someone walking at an average pace 72 minutes to walk it.

For someone weighing 11 stone, this would burn 252 calories (roughly the same as a portion of french fries). For someone weighing 13 stone, this would burn 299 calories (about the same as an almond croissant).

So next time it’s throwing it down and you fancy a workout, head to intu Trafford Centre. You can get a bit of shopping done while you’re there – and you can be 100% certain you’re not going to get soaked.

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