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Walk off your Christmas dinner
There’s nothing better than a delicious traditional Christmas dinner. Turkey, gravy, stuffing, sausage wrapped in bacon, all followed by Christmas pudding. But a full Christmas dinner with all the trimmings, preceded by breakfast, and followed by a few chocolates while watching the Queen’s speech and a cold supper can tip the scales at a massive 6,000 calories.
Not only will overindulging during the festive season pile on the pounds, it can leave you feeling bloated, suffering from indigestion, and maybe having to deal with gastric problems.
Walking is a great way to burn off those excess calories and feel healthier, and OS Explorer Maps show miles upon miles of walking routes and rights of way across the country.
Top sports scientist Professor Jo Doust of University of Brighton, has calculated that, based on just a 2,000-calorie Christmas dinner, an average man weighing 80 kg (12 stone eight pounds) will need to walk 18 miles – or a woman of 60 kg (9 stone 6 pounds) 24 miles – on the flat to burn off those excess calories. Alternatively, a Boxing Day trek up Snowdon – if the weather’s suitable – starting from and finishing at the village of Beddgelert would be enough to walk off all the calories consumed over Christmas dinner.
Those with different body types need to walk further than others to get rid of the Christmas bulge. “The number of calories burned while walking depends on body weight, distance, type of surface and the slope,” says Professor Doust. “As a rule, a light person will have to walk further than a heavy person to burn off the same number of calories. Equally, you will have to walk further on flat terrain than hilly terrain to burn off the same calories.”
Surprisingly research shows that people with short legs will not be able to argue that they burn more calories than those with long legs. “A short person might take more steps but each one is shorter and needs less energy than the longer steps of a taller person. It all pretty much balances out and leg length makes only about 3% difference to the energy required to walk,” added Professor Doust.
How far do you need to walk?
For his Christmas walk calculations, Professor Doust assumed a typical winter path where it is a bit wet, muddy in places but is an actual country soil/stone/grassy path, and a typical winter day where it is a bit blowy off and on. In his calculations for a hill walk, Professor Doust assumed the walk starts and finishes from the same point and there are flatish sections that are a bit longer than the uphill/downhill sections. He has assumed a total height gain of 500 m, which could be one straight walk up a big hill or be accumulated from an undulating walk.
His calculations for distance in kilometres to use up a 2,000-calorie Christmas meal for different body weights are:
A walk on flat terrain
Weightkgst,lbs |
507st,12lbs |
609st,6lbs |
7011st |
8012st,8lbs |
9014st,2lbs |
10015st,10lbs |
Distancekmmiles |
46.528.9 |
38.724 |
33.120.5 |
2918 |
25.816 |
23.214.4 |
A walk on hilly terrain
Weightkgst, lbs |
50kg7st,12lbs |
60kg9st,6lbs |
70kg11st |
80kg12st,8lbs |
90kg14st,2lbs |
100kg15st,10lbs |
Distancekmmiles |
39.724.6 |
3219.8 |
2616.1 |
22.413.9 |
19.211.9 |
16.510.2 |
The average person walks at around 3 mph, so a walk of 18 miles would take around 6 hours. However, if walking isn’t your cup of tea, then other sporting activities for burning off 2,000 calories include mountain biking for 3 hours 42 minutes, horse riding for 6 hours 30 minutes, cycling for 4 hours 45 minutes, rowing for 3 hours 42 minutes or fishing for 11 hours 6 minutes.
How many calories in your Christmas meal?
Turkey and trimmings, including stuffing, roast potatoes, roast parsnips, boiled carrots, Brussel sprouts, pork sausage, bacon, bread sauce, cranberry sauce and gravy.
Total calories: 956
Christmas pudding and brandy butter
Total calories: 423
Two mince pies with cream and a share of the chocolate box
Total calories: 900
Two glasses of mulled wine
Total calories: 490
Walking to get fit and healthy
Successive health campaigns, such as this year’s ITV’s Britain on the Move and the BBC’s Big Challenge, have highlighted the benefits of walking. Walking can prevent obesity, which is strongly linked to heart disease and diabetes. The British Heart Foundation claims the average Briton puts on 5 lb (more than 2 kg) in weight at Christmas. Unfortunately, for an increasing number of people overeating is not just confined to Christmas – it has become a way of life, and many realise that it’s time to eat less and exercise more. In their day-to-day lives many people are less active than earlier generations because modern conveniences, from e-mail to remote controls, have eliminated the need to walk.
Foot power is enjoying a renaissance. Several recent studies have deemed walking 10,000 steps a day to be an effective way to combat obesity, but recording the number of steps you take isn’t new; measuring steps can be traced to the Romans who tallied their paces – 2,000 equalled a Roman mile. Depending on the length of a person's stride, 10,000 steps is about five miles. With a goal of 10,000 steps a day to record on your step-o-meters or pedometers, what better way to spend your Boxing day and subsequent weekends than discovering new routes and enjoying the delights of the British countryside.
"Ordnance Survey maps give everyone access to the ‘green gym’ of the British countryside and walking helps you lose weight and get fitter at the same time," says Aberystwyth University’s Professor Doust.
Among the typical excuses for not walking to keep fit are personal safety concerns, an issue featured up front in the Walking the way to Health joint initiative of the British Heart Foundation and the Countryside Agency.
"People need reassurance that the area they want to walk in is safe and that they won’t get lost," says Ordnance Survey’s Scott Sinclair. “Trained leaders who offer guided walks will often turn to one of our maps to help plan a route. If you are not a regular walker, or if you are planning a walk with your family, it is important that you are familiar with the route before you set out."
Maps: an ideal walking companion
Ordnance Survey maps cover the entire country at various levels of detail or scale. OS Explorer 1:25,000 scale maps are especially suitable for use during the walk, as they show public rights of way and 'open access' areas in England and Wales.
Maps are not just route planners. Potential hazards, such as steep climbs or marshy ground, can be picked out in advance once you have mastered the basic skills of map reading, such as getting to know map symbols and contour lines. Maps can help you choose the length and difficulty of your route, and alternative shorter routes if the weather turns and you need to head for shelter. Interesting features such as historic churches, windmills and country pubs are also marked on OS Explorer maps, making them ideal companions to discovering your local area.
So, for short walks from your house or for longer rambles, maps are just as essential as suitable footwear and sensible clothing.
Ordnance Survey is so keen to get people walking at a young age that it has started an initiative to give a free OS Explorer Map to every 11-year-old in Britain. By the end of 2005 more than three million maps will have been given away so that children can start to discover their local area, both in the classroom and at home with their families.
The mapping agency has also invested in providing free mapping resources on its website. Sections on 
how to read maps and navigation are available at www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk together with a Get-a-map service that provides free OS Explorer Map extracts simply by keying in a postcode, place name or map grid reference.
Ordnance Survey hopes that initiatives such as Britain on the Move will encourage more people to get fit by walking. Detailed paper maps such as OS Explorer are used by thousands of walkers daily; however, once caught by the walking bug, more regular and experienced walkers can make use of products such as maps on CD that can be linked to personal GPS kits and personalised OS Select maps that are centred on specified points, so that nowhere on the route falls on the edge of the map.
Further details on Ordnance Survey resources, products and services are available on www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk
Details on the Britain on the Move campaign are available at www.itv.com/britainonthemove and the Walking the way to Health web site is www.whi.org.uk
Looking for ideas for walks to burn off those Christmas calories?
Jo Doust and his team in the department of Sport & Exercise Science have devised calorie maps for several trails across Britain, including around Aberystwyth, Rhyl, Liverpool, Hereford, Cardigan, the West Highland Way and several for the Forestry Commission Wales.
For further information on Aberystwyth University Department of Sport & Exercise Science: www.aber.ac.uk/sportexercise
Online calorie maps:
- Liverpool's map is downloadable from this site:
- The Rhyl map is downloadable from following site, click on Countryside service, then Information and interpretation, and then walking the way to health in Rhyl.
- Forestry Commission Wales: Wales Forestry Calorie Maps
- Aberystwyth Calorie Map: Aberystwyth Calorie Map
- Liverpool calorie map and walking routes: Liverpool Calorie Map
Walking facts
- Studies show that 30 minutes of brisk walking every day can result in a significant improvement to your general health.
- Walking reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke, lowers blood pressure, reduces cholesterol, enhances mental well-being, reduces the risk of colon cancer and non-insulin-dependent diabetes, and aids flexibility and coordination. It also helps control body weight.
- Walking is Britain's most popular outdoor recreation. Some 77% of adults, or about 38 million people, say they walk for pleasure at least once a month.
- Popular walking areas The Peak District, English Lakes and Snowdonia are the top destinations for British map buyers
Walking resources
Ordnance Survey has produced a free Map reading made easy leaflet – perfect for those who want to learn better map skills. A free mapping index containing a guide to all the agency’s leisure maps is also available. Copies are available by phoning 08456 05 05 05 or email customerservices@ordnancesurvey.co.uk
The Ramblers' Association, a registered charity with 139 000 members across England, Scotland and Wales, is Britain's biggest organisation working for walkers. Phone 020 7339 8500. The Ramblers’ Association website has a useful guide to walking: www.ramblers.org.uk
Walking the way to Health website is www.whi.org.uk
ITV’s Britain on the Move campaign: www.itv.com/britainonthemove
The Countryside Agency: www.countryside.gov.uk
Countryside Council for Wales: www.ccw.gov.uk/
Scottish Natural Heritage:www.snh.org.uk
Visit Britain: www.visitbritain.com
BBC Where I Live – take a walk through time: www.bbc.co.uk/whereilive
Other good resources for walking routes are the following websites:
Guardian Unlimited: www.travel.guardian.co.uk
Ordnance Survey is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Picture credits: ©Ordnance Survey, ©Countryside Agency/Bruce Tanner/McCoy-Wynne.