Short YouTube commentary by Károly Zsolnai-Fehér summarizing a controlled experiment where ~100 subjects climbed 11 stories (27 m) while oxygen consumption and heart rate were measured. The study found the ascent burned about 19.7 kilocalories (≈0.1 kcal per step; descent ≈0.05 kcal/step) and concluded stair climbing meets minimum cardiorespiratory exercise requirements—useful as brief cardiovascular activity but limited for weight loss.
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Dear fellow scholars, this is two minute papers with I am sure that every one of us have overheard conversations at the workplace where people talked about taking the stairs instead of the elevator and as a result getting leaner. There was also a running joke on the Internet about Arnold Classic, a famous bodybuilding competition festival where I think it's fair to say that people tended to favor the escalator instead of the stairs. So this is it. We're going to settle this here and now. Do we get lean from taking the stairs every day? Scientists set up a controlled experiment where over a hundred subjects climbed 11 stories of staircases ascending a total of 27 meters vertically. Their oxygen consumption and heart rate was measured and most importantly for us, the amount of calorie cost of this undertaking. They have found that all this self flagellation with ascending 11 stories of staircases burns a whopping 19.7 kilocalories. Each step is worth approximately 1/10 of a kilocalorie. If you are ascending, descending is worth approximately half of that. Apparently these bodybuilders know what they are doing. The authors diplomatically noted stair climbing exercise using a local public access staircase met the minimum require requirements for cardiorespiratory benefits and can therefore be considered a viable exercise for most people and suitable for promotion of physical activity. Which sounds like the scientific equivalent of basically, well, better than nothing. So does this mean that you shouldn't take the stairs at work if you are looking to get lean because of that? No, not a chance. However, if you are looking for a refreshing cardiovascular exercise in the morning that refreshes your body and makes you happier, start climbing. I do it all the time and I love it. We are exploring so far uncharted territories and this makes the first episode on nutrition in the series. If you would like to hear more of this, let me know in the comment section. I'd also be happy to see your paper recommendations in nutrition as well. Thanks for watching and for your generous support and I'll see you next time.
