More than 60 percent of adults in the United States do not engage in the recommended amount of physical activity. In fact, some 25 percent of American adults are not active at all.
The Positive Benefits of Walking on Your Health
When done briskly on a regular basis, walking can have many positive impacts on health, including:
- decreasing the risk of a heart attack
- reducing the risk of developing type 2 diabetes
- lowering the body's levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL or "bad") cholesterol and raising high-density lipoprotein (HDL or "good") cholesterol
- helping to keep blood pressure in a healthy range
- reducing the risk of blood clots and irregular heartbeats
- helping to control weight
- improving muscle tone
- minimizing the effects of osteoporosis and arthritis
In addition, going for a walk is a great way to reduce stress and promote an overall sense of wellness. Regular walking can reduce feelings of depression and anxiety as well.
Walking Burns Calories
Researchers have proven that people do not have to exercise to exhaustion in order to gain health benefits. Walking burns approximately the same amount of calories per mile as does running. In addition, recent studies show that for a period of time after a vigorous workout, such as brisk walking, the metabolism remains elevated above normal, which results in additional calories burned.
While government experts suggest that adults try to get 30 minutes of moderate exercise on most days of the week, research suggests that those 30 minutes can be broken up into three 10-minute periods and still offer health benefits.
The Negative Health Effects of Getting Too Little Exercise
Physical inactivity can lead to chronic diseases and conditions like heart disease, stroke, colon cancer, diabetes, obesity, arthritis and osteoporosis. Being obese is equivalent to aging 20 years.
Obesity increases a person’s risk for negative health consequences, and affects more people than does smoking or heavy drinking. In fact, obese individuals suffer from a 67 percent increase in chronic diseases, higher than smoking, drinking or poverty. Obese individuals also spend 77 percent more on medications.
Walking: A Safe and Effective Exercise
Anyone can make the everyday choice to do more in the way of physical fitness — to take the stairs instead of the elevator, to walk the dog instead of watching television, to park at the back of the parking lot instead of closer. Walking is one of the simplest, safest and most effective ways to get regular exercise. For more ideas like these, read The Health Benefits of Walking or How to Get More Exercise: Easy Ways to Walk More Each Day.
Those who see the statistics in this article and want to do something about their health risks are encouraged to talk with their doctors. Together, each individual and his or her doctor can build a regular walking program that is tailored to the patient's physical condition and lifestyle. And by adding more physical fitness into each day, that individual can reduce his or her risk of becoming another statistic.
References
- Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, "Walking for Fitness, Taking Steps in the Right Direction," December 19, 2002
- President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
- Rand Health, "The Effects of Obesity, Smoking and Problem Drinking on Chronic Medical Problems and Health Care Costs,” R. Strum, February 2002
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Physical Activity and Health: A Report of the Surgeon General,” 1996
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Physical Activity Fundamental to Preventing Disease,” 2002
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity,” 2001
Robin Mayhall - I'm a versatile writer and editor with more than 20 years of experience, and I personally battle rheumatoid arthritis.
