Jan. 10, 2005 -- Walking faster may not translate into faster weight lossamong obese children, according to a new study.

Researchers found increasing walking speed did not cause fat oxidation,otherwise known as "fat burning," to speed up among a group ofoverweight boys between the ages of 9 and 11.

Instead, the study showed that the highest fat and carbohydrate burningoccurred at a walking speed of about 2.5 miles per hour.

Based on those findings, researchers say that a moderately intense exerciseprogram may be recommended to overweight children as a feasible way to treatchildhood obesity.

Walk Slow, Burn Fat

In the study, researchers compared fat burning rates at different walkingspeeds among 24 overweight boys with an average body mass index (BMI, a measureof weight in relation to height) of 25.5. A BMI over 25 is consideredoverweight and a BMI over 30 is considered obese.

The results appear in the January issue of The Journal of ClinicalEndocrinology & Metabolism.

The maximum fat burning rate was found at a moderate walking speed of about2.5 miles per hour (4 kilometers/hour). Increasing the walking speed to 5kilometers/hour or 6 kilometers/hour did not substantially increase the fatburning rate.

Although the boys burned more carbohydrates when they increased theirwalking speed, researchers found the moderate walking pace promoted the highestfat to carbohydrate burning ratio, which is recommended for weight loss.

Researchers say that obesity causes the body to get energy from othersources rather than fat, which causes fat to build up. But exercise stimulatesfat burning and helps promote weight loss.

Based on these results, researchers say it may be more reasonable toprescribe and encourage low-intensity exercise, which is more feasible andacceptable to obese children, than to insist on more intense exercise programsthat may not provide any additional fat-burning benefits.