A new study has found that brisk walking is actually a better form of exercise for your health than running.

Researchers discovered that walking reduces the risk of heart disease more effectively than running when the energy expenditure of both activities is balanced out, The Guardian reports. When the same amount of energy was spent, it seemed walkers experienced greater health benefits than runners. The study was held for a period of six years and carried out on more than 48,000 runners and walkers aged between 18 and 80. Running reduced the risk of heart disease by 4.5 per cent while walking reduced it by 9.3 per cent. Calorie for calorie, walking had a better effect on heart health than running. "Walking and running provide an ideal test of the health benefits of moderate-intensity walking and vigorous-intensity running because they involve the same muscle groups and the same activities performed at different intensities," said study leader Dr Paul Williams, from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. "The more the runners ran, and the walkers walked, the better off they were in health benefits. If the amount of energy expended was the same between the two groups, then the health benefits were comparable. "People are always looking for an excuse not to exercise but now they have a straightforward choice to run or to walk and invest in their future health." The research is reported in the American Heart Association journal Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology.