Whoever starts walking with poles often hopes to lose weight. That is natural: exercise must burn something. What do the studies say? The answer is sober but encouraging, because something other than you expected also shows up, in weight and waist, in blood pressure and in blood fats.
In brief
- Meta-analysis of 22 studies, 1,271 people, average age 62.
- Nordic Walking reduced weight by 1.76 kg, waist by 2.21 cm and body fat by 1.54 percentage points, and improved fitness and blood pressure.
- With poles a person works harder without it feeling harder, and sticks with it: 91% of sessions kept against 81%.
- It is not a miracle diet. It is movement that can be done for a long time.
A large review from 2025
The authors pooled 22 studies with a total of 1,271 people, average age about 62. They searched databases up to November 2023 and were interested in risk factors for heart and blood vessels. Nordic Walking statistically significantly reduced:
- body mass index by 0.67,
- weight by 1.76 kg,
- waist circumference by 2.21 cm,
- body fat percentage by 1.54 percentage points.
And not only that. Maximal oxygen uptake increased, that is fitness. Systolic pressure, the “upper” one, fell by 2.92 on average and blood fats improved somewhat too: LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglycerides. In people over 65 diastolic pressure improved the most, by 5.26 on average. All these numbers are averages and small changes, but they go in the right direction in everything at once.
A small trial with obese women
In 2011 French authors followed 23 middle-aged obese women for 12 weeks, three times a week. One group, twelve women, walked with poles, the other, eleven women, without. Weight, fat and diastolic pressure fell in both groups. Fitness, that is maximal oxygen uptake, improved only in the group with poles, by 3.7 ml/min/kg.
It is interesting how the women felt. Pulse was higher in those walking with poles, they spent more time at higher intensity, but the feeling of effort stayed the same. In other words: they worked harder without it feeling harder. And they stuck with it: in the group with poles 91% of the sessions were kept, in the group without poles 81%.
How to read it
Two kilos over several weeks or months are not a diet. But they are average values in people who mostly just walked. The second study shows a useful thing: with poles a person works harder without it feeling harder, and sticks with it. That is often more important in weight loss than one good week.
A waist circumference of two centimetres and fat of one and a half percentage points are numbers that are harder to recognise in the mirror than on the scales. But they are real and go in the right direction. If you start Nordic Walking because of weight, try not to measure only the kilos. Write down your waist circumference, how you manage stairs and how you feel after a walk. These things are worth following, because weight alone is just one number and does not tell everything.
What it means
Nordic Walking is not a miracle diet and nobody promises it. It is movement that can be done for a long time, it is pleasant and it does something. If you want to lose weight, poles will not get in the way, but it is good to see them as part of a larger whole, not as the only solution.
Do you walk with poles because of weight? Tell us in the forum what worked and what did not. An honest story helps more than a promise.
Frequently asked questions
**How much do I have to walk to see a result on the scales?** The studies pooled in the review had different lengths and frequencies, so there is no single number. In the French trial it was three times a week for twelve weeks. That is a reasonable frame to return to when you want to know whether anything is happening.
**Is it better to walk with poles or without?** In the French trial weight and fat fell equally in both groups. The difference was in fitness and persistence: with poles fitness improved and people kept more training sessions. So poles will not lose the weight for you, but they help you stick with it.
**Will it help with blood pressure and cholesterol too?** The review showed a small improvement in systolic pressure, LDL cholesterol, total cholesterol and triglycerides. In people over 65 diastolic pressure improved the most. They are not big changes, but they go in the right direction all at once.
**And what about diet?** The studies did not focus on it. Nordic Walking is not a substitute for what you eat, and nobody claims it is. It is one of the steps that together give a picture.
Text: Kompas.
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