"Welcome to Dear Julia http a weekly column where readers can submit everyday health questions on anything from the science of hangovers to the mysteries of back pain. Julia Belluz will sift through the research and consult with experts in the field to figure out how science can help us live happier and healthier lives.  Have a question Use our submission form httpsdocs.google.comformsdnBojnwSNqWYGlMzQcCOdoQdzaChMPOmNRRhKYtaviewform or ask juliaoftoronto httpstwitter.comjuliaoftoronto on Twitter. Is running really a better form of exercise than walking given that running can lead to more injuries  At Vox I sit near health reporter Sarah Kliff who trains for halfmarathons and triathlons with a casualness most people reserve for grocery shopping. But Sarahs also suffered with plantar fasciitis and a stress fracture. At times shes hobbled around in running shoes for months because everything else hurt too much and even sported a big blue brace on her left leg to help cushion the tiny cracks in the bones of her foot brought on from too much wear and tear. In many ways Sarah is a perfect case study in how to think about the benefits and risks of running versus walking. Running has greater health benefits than walking Sarah is super fit but it also carries a much bigger risk of injury see Sarahs foot brace.  So which effect dominates To find out I first searched for randomized control trials and systematic reviews on running walking and exercise at PubMed http health a free search engine for health research and in Google Scholar httpsscholar.google.com. I wanted to see what the highestquality evidence  trials and reviews are the gold standard http  said about the relative risks and benefits of these two forms of exercise. It was immediately apparent that running can lead to more injuries and the risk goes up as running programs get more intense. Studies have found that runners have significantly higher injury rates than walkers one study  http that young men who run or jog had a  percent higher risk of injuries than walkers and that ultramarathoners are at an even greater risk http The main runningrelated injuries http include tibia stress syndrome Achilles tendon injuries and plantar fasciitis. Overall more than half of people who run will experience some sort of injury from doing so while the percentage of walkers who will get hurt is around  percent. Interestingly it seems you can walk pretty much endlessly without any increased risk of hurting yourself. That running hurts people shouldnt be surprising. As this study described http Running produces ground reaction forces that are approximately . times body weight while the ground reaction force during walking is in the range of . times body weight. Youre also more likely to trip and fall while running than you are during a walk. Jogging even  to  minutes per day can reduce the risk of death from all causes I also learned about some of the incredible health benefits of going fast Even five to  minutes per day http of jogging at around  miles per hour can reduce the risk of death from cardiovascular disease and other causes. Joggers have been found to live longer  httpaje.oxfordjournals.orgcontentearlyaje.kws.fullthan nonjoggers even after adjusting for other factors  a difference of . years for men and . years for women. That said research has found that walking carries significant health benefits as well. Some studies suggest that you can extend your life and stave off disease http by simply walking  and the more the better. All this research while illuminating didnt offer up any clear conclusions on whether running or walking was better for you overall. So I asked some of the worlds leading researchers in this area. Their conclusion You need to consider the tradeoffs. Running moderately prolongs life more than walking does said Peter Schnohr http a clinical cardiologist who has researched many aspects of exercise and health. The key word there is moderately. Schnohr warned of the emerging research that doing a lot of endurance exercise over the long term like triathlon training can lead to heart problems http Overall theres a Ushaped association between running and mortality he said. Too little isnt helpful for health but too much might be harmful.  The most favorable regimen is two to three running days per week at a slow or average pace The most favorable regimen is two to three running days per week at a slow or average pace Schnohr advised. Running every day at a fast speed more than  hours per week is not as favorable. And for those who dont like running he noted Fast walking not slow also prolongs life. I cant tell how much. Dutch researcher Luiz Carlos Hespanhol httpslhamsterdam.comteamledenluizcarloshespanholjunior pointed out that in general running simply delivers health benefits more efficiently than walking does. This study httpcontent.onlinejacc.orgarticle.aspxarticleid for example found that five minutes of running per day is as beneficial as  minutes of walking. Hespanhol also said that after one year of training just two hours a week runners lose weight reduce their body fat lower their resting heart rates and drive down their blood serum triglycerides fat in the blood. Theres even evidence that running can have positive effects on tension depression and anger. Even so Hespanhol wasnt a total cheerleader for running. A good walking regimen can have similar benefits he noted. So on running versus walking it really depends on your values and preferences One could choose walking instead of running as a mode of physical activity based on injury risks since walking is less risky than running he explained. Or alternatively One could choose running because the health benefits are larger and come faster in a shorter period of time. To recap Running improves your health more efficiently than walking does and has greater health benefits per time invested. But even a small amount of running carries more injury risk than walking. And a lot of running i.e. ultramarathon training can well be harmful while the same is never true for walking. Where does this leave us All the exercise researchers seemed to agree on one thing that the best exercise routine is the one youll actually do. So the answer to the running versus walking question will probably vary from person to person. If you prefer one over the other stick with that. And if you still cant decide Hespanhol suggested this Why not do both  running and walking  in order to get the best of each"